uFamily Of Late Nursery School Teacher Claims ‘Big Bang Theory’ Ripped Off “Soft Kitty” Lullabyr

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  If you’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory, you’re no doubt familiar with the method employed by other characters to soothe uptight scientist Sheldon when he gets upset: a lullaby about a soft, nice kitty that helps him settle down to sleep when he’s having trouble. That “Soft Kitty” song has also turned into big merchandising bucks, money the show doesn’t deserve according to a new lawsuit that claims the lyrics are a ripoff.

  The family of a late New Hampshire nursery school teacher named Edith Newlin, who passed away in 2004, filed a federal complaint [PDF] claiming that the “Soft Kitty” song that’s proven so popular for CBS’ show about wacky scientists and their neighbor who works at a Cheesecake Factory was taken without credit from a poem she wrote in 1933 called “Warm Kitty.”

  Newlin’s daughter said she had never watched the show and didn’t know about it using “Soft Kitty” until she was researching an article about her mother in August 2014. She and her sister say there’s only a “minor change in word order” between the song that’s performed on the show and their mother’s original poem, which goes: “Warm kitty, soft kitty,/ Little ball of fur, / Sleepy kitty, happy kitty, / Purr! Purr! Purr!”

  

  In comparison, the song sung on Big Bang Theory goes, “Soft kitty, warm kitty/ Little ball of fur/ Happy kitty, sleepy kitty/ Purr purr purr.”

  Willis Music published the poem in a collection called “Songs for the Nursery School,” whose registration was last renewed in 1964, according to the lawsuit. The show runners worked out a deal with Willis Music for that song privately, the lawsuit claims, but never asked Newlin’s heirs for permission. Even worse, the sitcom cites co-producer and Chuck Lorre Productions principal Bill Prady with the lyrics for the song, the complaint says.

  Besides just appearing on a TV show, the lawsuit says, the song has raked in merchandising money that takes the ripoff to another level.

  “The Soft Kitty lyrics have been displayed in their entirety on t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, pajamas, mouse pads, mobile phone covers, wallets, air fresheners, refrigerator magnets, singing plush toys, and other products,” the complaint states. “With the exception of the singing plush toys, these merchandise items display the complete and verbatim Soft Kitty lyrics without any musical accompaniment.”

  To that end, watching a clip of “Soft Kitty” on the official YouTube page for the show, multiple ads pop up on the video with links to “Soft Kitty tees” and a “Soft Kitty hoodie.”

  The daughters are seeking damages and an injunction for copyright infringement.

  Check out the song as seen on Big Bang Theory below:

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uIcahn Reportedly Wins Pep Boys Bidding Battle For $1B; Bridgestone Leaves Racer

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  And just like that, it appears the auto parts retailer love triangle has ended: Bridgestone, the one-time preferred suitor of Pep Boy, reportedly bowed out of the months-long bidding war with Icahn Enterprises. 

  The Chicago Tribune reports that Bridgestone, which Pep Boys originally agreed to sell itself to for $835 million in October, won’t counter Icahn’s latest $1 billion for Manny, Moe, and Jack.

  If Bridgestone follows through with its decision to drop its love for Pep Boys, the company likely won’t go away empty-handed. When Pep Boys agreed last week to a new $17 a share (about $950 million) deal with the Japanese company, it included a $39.5 million break-up fee if Pep Boys ultimately sold to a different company.

  While we weren’t really anticipating a bidding war when Pep Boys announced a deal in October to sell its 800 retail locations to Bridgestone — which operates 2,200 tire and car service centers in the U.S. under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works brands — that is exactly what happened.

  In early December, Icahn, the operator of Auto Plus, offered to pay $837 million ($15.50/share) for Manny, Moe, and Jack.

  From there, Bridgestone upped its offer to about $950 million, a deal that Pep Boys also agreed to.

  On Monday, Icahn upped its bid one more time to the tune of $1 billion, or $18.50 per share.

  Icahn appears to win $1 billion Pep Boys bidding war; Bridgestone bows out [Chicago Tribune]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uT-Mobile Denies “Throttling” YouTube, Says Video Is “Mobile Optimized”r

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• Right before Christmas, YouTube publicly called out T-Mobile’s Binge On streaming program for allegedly slowing down all video content, potentially in violation of new federal “net neutrality” rules. Now T-Mobile counters YouTube’s argument by claiming that it’s just trying to provide users with speeds that are appropriate for use on mobile networks.

  To back up a couple months, T-Mo introduced Binge On back in November, with the headlining idea being that users’ data plans would not be charged for accessing certain participating video streaming services.

  What wasn’t screamed out in that announcement was that Binge On video doesn’t stream at full resolution. Furthermore, it isn’t just the videos from Binge On participants — like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, and Sling — that gets this treatment. T-Mobile is also capping resolution on services that don’t participate in Binge On, like YouTube.

  “Reducing data charges can be good for users, but it doesn’t justify throttling all video services, especially without explicit user consent,” a YouTube rep said last month.

  You may not have noticed, but the YouTube rep’s use of the term “throttling” is incredibly problematic for T-Mobile.

  See, the recently enacted neutrality rules explicitly prohibit broadband providers — including wireless companies — from throttling access to “particular classes of content, applications, or services.”

  It’s perfectly fine for the content company to push lower-resolution video to mobile devices, or to give customers that option of receiving streams that aren’t full-quality, but if a broadband provider is monkeying around to deliberately slow down that stream, a line may be crossed.

  Speaking to DSLreports.com, a rep for T-Mobile contends that the company is not doing anything wrong with YouTube content.

  “Using the term ‘throttle’ is misleading,” explains the T-Mo rep. “We aren’t slowing down YouTube or any other site. In fact, because video is optimized for mobile devices, streaming from these sites should be just as fast, if not faster than before. A better phrase is ‘mobile optimized’ or a less flattering ‘downgraded’ is also accurate.”

  This is where things get interesting. T-Mobile argues that it’s not throttling because the videos stream “just as fast, if not faster.”

  If you were talking about website loading times, then there’s really no problem with that argument, but when talking about streaming video, it’s often not simply a question of how quickly something streams. The FCC may eventually have to settle the question of whether it’s okay for wireless providers to downgrade video for optimal network performance, or whether that practice counts as throttling.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uRaiders Of The Lost Walmart Still Playing Game That Shut Down In July 2014r

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• Eventually, all things end, and that includes multiplayer online games. The game Vanguard: Saga of Heroes shut down in July of 2014, but Walmart is trying to keep its legacy alive by continuing to sell useless game discs in the discount bin for fifteen bucks.

  

  The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are the brave explorers and retail archaeologists who find retail antiquities in the world’s big box stores, bringing them back to share with Consumerist and with the world. New raider Alex found this fine specimen of an extinct game in the discount bin of a Walmart in Florida.

  “Sure enough, this $15 purchase gets you access to a game that went free to play in 2012 and went completely offline on July 31st of 2014,” he wrote in his field notes. “I was half tempted to purchase it anyway, but my better judgement prevailed.”

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uHealth Insurer Apologizes For Robocalling Senior Citizens In The Wee Hours Of The Morningr

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  There’s perhaps nothing more annoying than rushing to answer a ringing phone than to find a robot on the other end. But when that robocall is coming in at three in the morning? That’s an annoyance 10,000 senior citizens went through when a Massachusetts health insurer said it accidentally robocalled customers between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. this week.

  Tufts Health Plan in Quincy, MA accidentally sent out the automated call early in the morning on Tuesday, reminding patients to get their flu shots, reports The Patriot Ledger. The call — targeted to those over 65 enrolled in a certain insurance plan — was supposed to go live from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., which means someone probably didn’t check the right box.

  Customers called up Tufts to ask why in the world they were being woken up at such an ungodly hour, and the provider says it’s going to try to reach out to all who were affected.

  “It’s unfortunate that it happened and I would just want to issue a complete apology to all those who received a phone call,” a spokeswoman told the paper. “I’m sure it was jarring to be woken up like that and it certainly was not our intent.”

  The phone reminder systems is something Tufts uses “very sparingly,” she added, and another version of the call went off without a hitch last week.

  “The intent is good, you know, to remind folks to get their flu shots this time of the year. It was just a human error this time,” she said.

  A former Patriot Ledger editor who received the call at 4:45 a.m. called up the provider and talked to someone about what had happened. He had a bright idea that would resolve the situation.

  “She asked if I wanted to leave my number so that someone could call me back,” he said. “I told her, no, but can you give me the number of the president so I can give him a call tomorrow morning?”

  10,000 receive Tufts Health flu robocall between 3 and 5 a.m. [The Patriot Ledger]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uUPS Changed Shipping Deadlines To Ensure On-Time Deliveryr

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  How do you make sure that packages shipped using three-day delivery service make it to their destinations on time during the week before Christmas? Retailers probably didn’t like the solution that UPS used this year, but it worked to prevent a last-minute rush of packages. They simply added a day to the shipping time during the runup to Christmas.

  Without a last-minute rush of packages using three-day or two-day shipping on the 21st and 22nd respectively, UPS didn’t have a sudden glut of packages going through the system, rushing to their destinations without the benefit of a magic sleigh to get them where they needed to be.

  This worked: the Wall Street Journal reports that the busiest delivery day for UPS was December 21, instead of later in the week and closer to a crucial gift-giving deadline. It was better for the company to shift the shipping deadline and maybe miss some last-minute shoppers’ business than to deal with a last-minute shipping rush, paying overtime or not delivering packages at all.

  A company spokesman said that most packages didn’t need extra time, but it was better to build it in than to deliver packages late if bad weather or other unexpected crises cropped up.

  UPS Adds a Day to Deliver on Time [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

u14 More Tiny Urban Target Stores Will Open In 2016-2017r

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  Yes, Target is a chain of big-box stores, but the company sees its future in considerably smaller boxes. Instead of suburban stores of more than 100,000 square feet in the suburbs, all but one of the stores that Target has planned in 2016 and 2017 are small-format stores in urban areas across the country.

  Target’s mini-stores began a few years ago with separate branding. Small stores of maybe 80,000 square feet were called “Target Express,” and then came even smaller stores of around 20,000 square feet called “CityTarget.” Earlier this year, the company decided that all of these sub-brands were confusing, and decided to simply call all of their stores of all sizes Target.

  Planned stores in 2016 will be in Long Beach (CA), Philadelphia (two of ’em!), New York City (Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens), Brookline (MA), Cupertino, (CA) and Chicago. Mini stores slated to open in 2017 will be in Cambridge (MA), two in Los Angeles, and another in Philadelphia. The one full-size big box will open in 2016 in Allentown, PA.

  2016 store openings [Target] (via Racked)

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uMusician Files $150M Lawsuit Against Spotify For Royaltiesr

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  To make a song available on a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, the services negotiate with record labels and representatives of songwriters. David Lowery is a musician (best known for the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven), a professor, and an activist for artists’ rights in the new music economy, and his latest effort is a class action lawsuit against Spotify for mechanical royalties.

  Lowery’s argument has been that performers and songwriters aren’t benefiting from the new music economy as much as they did from the model from last century, where they collected royalties from selling albums and singles. The new system, where they earn teeny fractions of a penny per play of a song,

  The lawsuit argues that while Spotify (and other streaming services) may have licensed recordings from record labels, they didn’t seek permission for a mechanical license from the songwriter for the song itself, which would give artists the opportunity to withhold their music from streaming services if they wanted to.

  One of those artists is, of course, David Lowery, who notably wrote a few years ago about how he earned $16.89 for one million plays of Cracker’s hit song “Low” on Pandora, which isn’t really a sustainable income stream.

  There’s another related issue that involves streaming services playing music without paying songwriters or securing their permission. When services can’t find an artist or their representatives, but the recordings are available to stream, they simply hold it in an escrow account until they get around to finding the artist, or their representatives or heirs. The question is: how hard are the streaming services working to find the artists and cut them checks?

  Spotify Hit With $150 Million Class Action Over Unpaid Royalties [Billboard]

  SEE ALSO:
  Who Is Really Making Money When We Don’t Buy The Music We Listen To?
  How Much Does A Songwriter Earn When Pandora Plays His Song 1.16 Million Times? Hint: It’s Not Much

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uSidecar Calling It Quits, Ceasing Service Dec. 31r

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• There will be one less ride-sharing company to shuttle you and your packages around the city come January 1: Sidecar plans to shutter its ride and delivery service by the end of the year. 

  Sidecar CEO Sunil Paul announced that the company would cease ride and delivery operations at 2 p.m. PST on December 31.

  While the end is near for Sidecar’s services, Paul made it clear that the company as a whole wasn’t going away. Instead it will focus “on strategic alternatives and lay the groundwork for the next big thing.”

  “This is the end of the road for the Sidecar ride and delivery service, but it’s by no means the end of the journey for the company,” he wrote.

  Sidecar, which was founded in San Francisco in 2011, was a rival for Uber and Lyft for a time before transitioning to focus more on deliveries of packages and medical marijuana in certain areas.

  “I’m extremely proud of our team and all that we’ve accomplished,” Sunil said. “We are the innovation leader in ride-sharing despite a significant capital disadvantage, continually rolling out new products that set the bar for others to follow.”

  [via TechCrunch]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSay Goodbye To Microbeads: President Signs Act To Ban Microscopic Plastic Particlesr

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• If your favorite face wash includes tiny microbeads, you better savor it. After playing catch-up with several states, the U.S. has finally passed a measure that would keep the microscopic plastic spheres from going down the drain and possibly into the stomachs of our seafood. 

  President Barack Obama yesterday signed into law the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 [PDF], which would phase out the use of microbeads in consumer products over the next several years, MLive reports. 

  The Act, which passed the U.S. House unanimously in early December signaling widespread support for the ban, prohibits the “manufacture and introduction into interstate commerce of rinse-off cosmetics containing intentionally-added plastic microbeads.”

  Under the bill, a ban on manufacturing products with the beads, the first step, would begin on July 1, 2017, followed by product-specific manufacturing and sales bans in 2018 and 2019.

  The bill’s definition of a microbead — “any solid plastic particle” less than five millimeters in size intended for use as an exfoliant — also closes a potential loophole that environmental groups feared could keep the small spheres in use: simply using a different kind of plastic.

  “As someone who grew up on Lake Michigan and represents a large chunk of Michigan coastline, I understand firsthand how important it is to maintain the beauty and integrity of our Great Lakes,” Illinois Representative Fred Upton, who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement in early December.

  The small bits of plastic, often found in face washes, soaps and toothpaste, have become a hot topic for lawmakers and environmentalists in recent years, with many states taking action to end the use of microbeads.

  A report issued by the New York Environmental Protection Bureau last year outlined just how unsafe the small plastic pieces can be.

  According to the report, after microbeads are washed from our bathrooms, they easily travel through wastewater treatment plants and enter our waterways. The tiny beads then act as sponges for toxic chemical pollutants and become an attractive snack for marine wildlife. And because we humans often like to eat seafood, that means there’s a pretty good chance the spheres could end up in your stomach.

  Despite the findings, legislation to phase out the use of microbeads state-wide has passed the New York Assembly twice in the last two years, but has stalled in the Senate both times.

  Last year, Illinois became the first state to pass an ordinance that would gradually fade out the use of microbeads beginning in 2017 and ending in 2019.

  The state bill even had the cooperation of product manufacturers. An official with the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois said at the time that the quick deal resulted from unique circumstances, and the availability of substitute ingredients, such as oatmeal and sea salt.

  Earlier this year, the state of California voted to phase out the use of microscopic exfoliating beads in personal care products sold in the state.

  Michigan also considered a ban on the use of the beads this year. MLive reports that legislators debated the bill, but failed to reach a consensus.

  The issue hasn’t just been on the minds of activists, either. Several major manufacturers, such as Proctor & Gamble, and Unilever, have pledged to phase out use of plastic microbeads.

  In February 2014, L’Oréal said it would begin phasing out the materials this year in their Biotherm products and continue with Body Shop products in 2015. All of the company’s products are expected to be microbead-free by 2017.

  Colgate-Palmolive has already discontinued using microbeads in all its products, telling Consumerist in a statement in October: “Some groups have raised concerns regarding the potential contribution of microbeads to pollution of the world’s oceans. Recognizing that consumers have questions, as of year-end 2014 we are no longer using this ingredient.”

  Obama signs ban on microbead pollution [MLive]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uGuacamole Lovers, Rejoice: Avocados Are Pretty Darn Cheap Right Nowr

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  If you’re the kind of person who runs shouting through the streets for all to hear when you find cheap avocados, pay attention: despite earlier concerns that the growing popularity of the fruit would make it more expensive for shoppers, avocado prices instead have fallen steeply. More guacamole for everyone!

  One California-based growing company, Calavo Growers,said it had to battle sharply lower avocado prices in its fourth fiscal quarter. It wasn’t quite predicting that.

  “During our fiscal fourth quarter, the industry experienced prolonged and meaningful downward pricing pressure on per-unit avocado prices,” Chief Executive Lee Cole said in the company’s earnings release reported by MarketWatch. “This was a unique situation, reflective of an avocado industry rapidly transitioning to annual consumption well in excess of two billion pounds.”

  Calavo packed 22% more fresh avocados in that quarter this year, compared to a year before, and said the company expects the trend to continue into 2016.

  The big drop in prices is likely unexpected, especially as California is in the middle of a drought that’s dragged on for three years so far. That state produces more than 80% of the avocados in the country, according to trade group Hass Avocado Board. Elsewhere, Chile and Mexico have also had issues with water, and Mexican growers have faced issues with drug cartels.

  In any case, now would be a great time for you to serve an absolutely ginormous bowl of guacamole at your New Year’s Eve party, just because you can.

  Avocado prices are falling sharply, not rising [MarketWatch]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uHealth Care Providers Repeatedly Violate HIPAA, Nothing Happensr

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  You’re probably familiar with HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a federal law that protects the your health information from being shared with anyone who doesn’t need to see it. This includes things like mailing someone the wrong set of test results, shouting information in a pharmacy for everyone to hear, and of course mass breaches of paper or digital data. What happe

  While you’ve heard of HIPAA if you’ve visited a doctor or filled a prescription in the last 20 years, you probably aren’t as familiar with the federal Office of Civil Rights, which is in charge of actually enforcing HIPAA and handing out punishments to health care providers that violate it.

  Yet an analysis by investigative reporting nonprofit ProPublica shows that many of the same providers violate the law and their patients’ or customers’ over and over, and aren’t punished for it. In the last four years, the top violator was part of the federal government: there were 220 complaints filed against the Veterans Administration, including one where a VA employee posted a veteran’s medical information on Facebook and chatted about it with her friends.

  Taking the silver and gold medals, though, were pharmacy chains CVS Health and Walgreens, followed by mega-health organization Kaiser Permanente and Walmart. If the violations for Walgreens and Rite Aid were combined, they would have taken the top spot from the VA.

  One patient in California didn’t discover a breach until, three months after giving birth, she thawed out her placenta and noticed that it had a different mother’s name on it. Hospital staff hadn’t checked the name on the container against her bracelet, resulting in a HIPAA complaint.

  An Office for Civil Rights official explained to ProPublica that their priority has been dealing with large breaches, where 500 or more people were affected. Small but repeated breaches are investigated but not necessarily punished.

  Few Consequences For Health Privacy Law’s Repeat Offenders [ProPublica/NPR]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uSomeone Pranked Maine Residents With Sign Promising New IKEA Store That Will Never Openr

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  While there are plenty of people interested in spreading cheer and goodwill during the holiday season, there are also those intent on making a lot of folks really, really sad. Such was the case in Portland, ME, where a prankster duped passers-by into believing that an empty lot would soon be the site of a new IKEA store.

  The sign was first spotted on Christmas Day, reading “Future home of IKEA … Opening 2016,” as seen in a photo submitted to the Portland Press Herald.

  Mystery sign says IKEA coming to Portland in 2016. But it isn't. – The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram https://t.co/o0oVyypHPl

  — Pooley (@pooley) December 29, 2015

  Though the sign was removed soon after, several people had already posted photos of it on social media, wondering whether lingonberries and Swedish meatballs would soon be within their reach. Not gonna happen, says IKEA.

  “We currently do not have plans to open a store in Portland, Maine,” IKEA Public Affairs Manager Joseph Roth told the Press Herald. “If we were opening in 2016, construction would have needed to begin already.”

  The company hasn’t been seriously looking at Maine, and says that it isn’t currently a candidate for expansion. Plus, at only 2.5 acres, the site doesn’t have a big enough footprint needed for an IKEA store, which usually need about 25 to 35 acres.

  It’s still a mystery as to who put the sign up in the first place, but you’ve got admit, a lot of work seemed to have gone into it.

  “Somebody’s got a lot of time on their hands,” said Portland Deputy City Manager Anita LaChance, adding that the retailer has never approached the city about the possibility of opening a store.

  Mystery sign says IKEA coming to Portland in 2016. But it isn’t. [Portland Press Herald]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uRegulators Stop Alleged Office Supply Scam That Targeted Charitable Organizations, Small Businessesr

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  We’ve said it a thousand times: scammers are the worst, and those that take advantage of organizations trying to do good in the world are the lowest of the low. Such was allegedly the case for Liberty Supply Co., which federal regulators have accused of running an office supply scam that targeted charitable organizations and small businesses. 

  The Federal Trade Commission today announced that, at its request, a federal court temporarily halted and froze the assets of Liberty Supply Co. after the operation allegedly bilked millions from nonprofit organizations and small businesses.

  According to the FTC’s complaint [PDF], since at least 2012 the operation, which did business as Omni Services, initiated calls to churches, schools and businesses.

  Operators for Omni claimed they worked for a local company that was going out of business, and offered to sell pens, paper clips, and other office supplies at low prices.

  When describing their sales offer to consumers, Omni’s telemarketers typically used vague or confusing terms about the cost or quantity of goods offered.

  For example, the FTC claims the company quoted a per-unit price even though they only sold multi-unit quantities, causing consumers to believe the quoted price applied to a package of items, instead of an individual item.

  As a result, the company failed to disclose the final price, quantity or shipping cost, even when asked, according to the FTC complaint.

  In one instance, the complaint alleges that if a consumer asked for a purchase order for their organization to approve, instead of sending a purchase order the defendants sent unordered merchandise and an invoice.

  Once a company received the unordered office supplies, Omni aggressively sought payment for the merchandise.

  Consumers who paid the invoice in full received a “thank you” call from Omni and the offer of a free gift. When the gift arrived it came with even more unordered office supplies and a new invoice.

  The FTC claims that when consumers questioned the invoices, Omni allegedly said they had a transcript of the conversation in which the order was placed, but refused to produce the transcript to the customer.

  When businesses or organizations asked to return the unordered merchandise they were told they had to pay a restocking fee, about 15% of the invoice amount.

  Some consumers paid for the products in order to avoid the burden or expense of the defendants’ onerous return policy, but the prices they paid were typically higher than the amount the defendants had stated in their initial phone call.

  In all, the FTC accuses Liberty Supply Co. and its operators, Mia McCrary and John B. Hart, of violating the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and the Unordered Merchandise Statute.

  The FTC is seeking to permanently stop Liberty Supply’s alleged illegal practices and make the company refund affected customers.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uFitbit Charge Users Report Worse Battery Life After Firmware Upgrader

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• Usually, a firmware update makes a gadget better, not worse. That’s not what users of the Fitbit Charge HR are experiencing after the device’s most recent firmware update, though. They report that their devices will only stay charged for anywhere between three days and a few hours, when the battery lasted longer before the update.

  Reader Alex, who alerted us to this problem, happens to live in a household with multiple Charge HR owners, and noticed the difference. “Three members of my household are only seeing 2 days battery life after the firmware update,” he wrote to Consumerist. Alex and his pals aren’t alone: users on Reddit and on Fitbit’s support forums report the same problem after the very same firmware update.

  “Your tracker’s battery should last up to 5 days,” Fitbit says in the company’s help document for users having battery problems. The key words there are “up to,” since battery life can vary according to what you actually do with the tracker while using it. However, a wristband that’s meant to track movement and sleep probably isn’t meant to need charging every few hours, and battery life suddenly plummeting is a bad sign.

  We contacted Fitbit about users’ experiences and whether they’re connected to the firmware upgrade: we’ll update this post if we hear anything back. If you have a Charge HR or other Fitbit device that has suddenly lost battery life after an upgrade, let us know!

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uNew Google Glass Reportedly Comes With Foldable Arms, Larger Content Viewerr

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• Nearly a year after Google stopped selling its Google Glass product, and five months after a patent hinted that the tech company wasn’t quite done with the device, a new version of the hi-tech glasses is apparently on the way. 

  A new filing on the Federal Communications Commission website hints that the next iteration of Google Glass comes equipped with a slew of new features, including foldable arms and a larger screen for viewing content.

  The new filing, which comes five months after the last FCC filing for the device, shows the first images of the new Google Glass and a users’ manual.

  In all, the main different — physically — between the new version and the defunct “Explorer Edition” is the foldable arms, a feature that was said to be the most-requested by previous Glass users.

  9to5Google reports that the device contains an Intel Atom processor, improved battery life, and improved “wireless connectivity.”

  The new version of Glass is intended for the working environments, and had been dubbed the “Enterprise Edition.”

  The device is planned to be only distributed through the Glass for Work startups, and likely won’t be available to consumers in any capacity, at least for now, 9to5 reports.

  This is Google Glass: Enterprise Edition in the flesh [9to5Google]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uJudge Tosses Drunk-Driving Charge Against Woman Whose Body Acts As A Breweryr

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  We learned a few years ago that there is a real medical condition where a person’s body basically turns into a brewery through no actions of their own. Though it can result in a drunken-like state that some might chalk up to simple inebriation, auto-brewery syndrome is involuntary, and as such, helped one woman who has it beat a drunk driving charge.

  A New York judge dismissed the charge against a woman who was able to prove that her body is its own little brewery, using excess intestinal yeast to turn her food into alcohol, reported The Buffalo News recently. That process can cause breathalyzer readouts that would normally mean someone is dangerously intoxicated.

  The woman was arrested last year after a 9-1-1 call that reported her weaving while driving. She reportedly was found driving on a flat tire with “glassy-bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.” Though she said she’d had three drinks, a breathalyzer registered her blood alcohol content at .33%

  “Her tire was flat, and she felt she was close enough to home that she could drive the rest of the way,” the woman’s attorney told The News. “She can register a blood alcohol content that would have you or I falling down drunk, but she can function.”

  She spent $7,000 working with a specialist to show how her body can make it seem like she’s the legal definition of drunk, without her guzzling even a drop herself.

  “I would say it is not safe to drive a car if you are in an auto brewery syndrome flare,” a doctor and auto-brewery syndrome expert who monitored and tested the woman, told the News. “But it’s a brand new disease and we’re still trying to understand it.”

  The doctor said he thinks between 50 and 100 people have been diagnosed with the disorder, though probably 95% of them have no idea. He advised the woman to change her eating habits, as flare-ups of ABS can be triggered in part by diets high in carbohydrates.

  Woman’s body acts as ‘brewery,’ so judge dismisses DWI [The Buffalo News]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uSamsung Pay Expected To Roll Out To U.S. Online Shoppers Next Yearr

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  Now that Samsung has tried its best to woo some more customers into signing up for its mobile payment app, the company is giving people the chance to actually buy stuff with Samsung Pay by allowing shoppers in the U.S. to use it next year for online purchases.

  The company is planning to expand the service in the U.S. next year by opening up Samsung Pay to online purchases as well as offering the electronic wallet on more of its phones, reports Reuters.

  Previously, only a few pricier Samsung phones — the Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6, and S6 Edge Plus — offered Samsung Pay. Lower-priced models will include the mobile wallet “within the next year,” Thomas Ko, global co-general manager of Samsung Pay, told Reuters.

  Wider “handset availability of Samsung Pay as well as online payment support is coming soon,” he said, without commenting on which other countries the service would expand to.

  Currently, Samsung Pay users can purchase items using technology that’s already widely used at most stores. On the other hand, stores that enable Apple Pay and Android Pay purchases have to install new equipment.

  Samsung Pay plans to enable U.S. online shopping in 2016 [Reuters]

  
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ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uMacy’s Recalls 121,000 Martha Stewart-Brand Frying Pans For Shooting Metal Discs At Cooksr

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• When cooking a meal on the stove, there’s always the possibility that a little bit of grease or oil will splatter on you. Something you probably aren’t prepared for, though, is the chance that a piece of the pan will shoot off, burning your arm, face, or other body part. 

  But that’s exactly what can happen with about 121,000 pans from the Martha Stewart Collection cookware set now being recalled by Macy’s, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports.

  According to the CPSC recall notice, the eight-inch and 10-inch stainless steel frying pans, which come standard in the Martha Stewart Collection 10-piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set, include metal discs that can pop off and hit the cook.

  The pans contain two rivets that attach the frying pan to the handle. The rivets are covered by stainless steel discs. It’s these discs that have been found to pose an injury hazard.

  Macy’s says it is aware of seven reports of the discs popping off, resulting in three minor injuries, including burns, bruises, and welts.

  The CPSC recommends owners of the cookware set, which was sold from January 2011 to September 2015 for about $170, immediately stop using the eight- and 10-inch pans.

  Other items included in the set – 1-quart covered saucepan, 2-quart covered sauce pan, 3-quart covered saucepan and 6-quart covered stockpot – are not affected by the recall.

  Consumers who purchased the cookware sets from Macy’s or macys.com should return the frying pans to Macy’s or macys.com for a store credit for the full value of the two frying pans. Consumers who purchased the cookware sets from a Military Exchange should return the frying pans to the Military Exchange for a full refund.

  The recalled pans can be identified by the following date codes:

  

  
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ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uTSA Stepping Up Random Security Screenings For Airport Workersr

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  There’s a good chance you’ve been waiting (patiently) in the airport security line, preparing to take off your shoes, your belt, remove your laptop, and place everything on the belt, only to see an airport employee breezily walk through the side gate with a quick flick of their badge. That scenario will likely be less and less frequent around the country as the Transportation Security Administration plans to increase random checks of airport and airline employees. 

  The Associated Press reports that TSA plans to increase random checks of personnel holding badges that typically enable them to bypass security checkpoints starting next year.

  Currently, U.S. airport and airline employees are allowed to skip security lines after undergoing a background check and obtaining a Security Identification Display Area (SIDA) badge. The system is designed to free up staff at passenger checkpoints and to clear individuals who are considered a minimal security risk, the AP reports.

  A spokesperson for the agency didn’t elaborate on how often the random checks would be used, but cited a Dept. of Homeland Security memo from earlier this year that it would enhance such random screenings in secure areas and encourage airports to reduce employee access points.

  “The TSA Administrator and I have recently concluded that we need to double-down on these airport security efforts and will be consulting with airports and airlines to do so,” Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh C. Johnson said in the statement from April.

  The random screening changes come after airlines and airports have been dealing with security breaches of sorts in recent years.

  In December 2014, a Delta Air Lines employee was arrested after allegedly helping to smuggle guns on a flight.

  The AP reports that airlines have already begun warning their employees that they may be subject to more scrutiny at checkpoints.

  American Airlines issued a memo to employees telling them that “we anticipate the random screening process to increase throughout December and during the 2016 calendar year.”

  TSA increases screening of airport and airline employees [The Associated Press]

  
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ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uEverlane Presents Customers With Moral Dilemma By Letting Them Choose The Price On Certain Itemsr

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• While we’re used to naming our own price for, say, a flight or a hotel using aservice like Priceline or Hotwire, it’s not every day that a clothing retailer gives customers the chance to choose what they’ll pay for apparel. Online-only retailer Everlane is giving shoppers the opportunity to pick from a few price tags for certain items in order to move overstock, but there is one small catch.

  Shoppers will need to either have a login or sign up to be an Everlane member, at which point they can navigate to the “Choose Your Own Price” area under either the Men’s or Women’s sections. Once there, customers face three different prices, with varying differences between them.

  But if you choose the cheapest price, be prepared for some information about exactly what your money will cover that might change your mind: select the lowest option and a pop-up will tell you that only the cost of production and shipping will be covered without any money going toward overhead for Everlane’s 70-person staff; the middle price and you’ll pay for a small amount of that; and the priciest tag will mean you’ve covered all those costs and your money allows the company to “invest in growth.” You also get a “thanks!”

  It’s ultimately up to you whether you’re feeling generous, or if you can handle a guilt trip and would rather save some money. If you’re up for facing a moral dilemma while shopping, the sale goes through Wednesday, Dec. 30.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uHoverboard Catches Fire At Texas Mall, Federal Safety Officials Record 12 Explosions In 17 Statesr

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• Even as the holidays wind down, so-called “hoverboards” continue to be a hot ticket at retailers and shopping malls around the country. One such busy mall happened to be in Texas where a self-balancing scooter caught fire, marking it just one of dozens of fires reported to federal safety officials in recent months. 

  KHOU reports [warning: link has video that autoplays] that smoke filled part of the Deerbrook Mall on Monday after a hoverboard caught fire at the kiosk selling the devices.

  Local police say that staff at the mall used a fire extinguisher to put out the small blaze before firefighters arrived.

  The mall was evacuated briefly, but no injuries were reported.

  “This afternoon there was an incident with a hoverboard that resulted in a small fire,” mall officials said in a statement. “As a precaution, Humble (Fire Department) was called in. The fire was quickly extinguished. The mall is open for business.”

  Unlike other hoverboard explosions that occurred while the device was plugged in to charge, KHOU reports that the scooter at Deerbrook Mall was still sitting in the box.

  “It just sounded like a small explosion sounded like a bomb honestly,” a woman shopping with a friend at the mall said.

  “It was nerve-wracking, I mean the emergency broadcast went off,” another shopper said. “You could see people who were in the opposite end who were running out, but they obviously thought it was something so serious they were holding their children.”

  The incident in Texas is just the latest in a string of issues for the popular self-balancing scooters.

  On Monday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it had received at least 22 reports of fires in 17 states, as well as 70 ER-treated injuries.

  #hoverboards: 22 reports of fires in at least 17 states (report to us at https://t.co/qFWdMF6Xk0). 70 ER-treated injuries & counting #GearUp

  — U.S. CPSC (@USCPSC) December 28, 2015

  The agency expects to receive more reports via safer products.gov in coming days and weeks.

  CPSC chairman Elliot Kaye issued a statement on hoverboards shortly before the holidays, saying that investigators with the agency were working “non-stop” to find the root cause for the fire hazards linked to the devices. So far, they believe lithium batteries could be the source of issues.

  “The challenge is to move quickly but also thoroughly and carefully to find out why certain hoverboards caught fire,” Kaye said in a statement. “Every consumer who is riding a hoverboard, who purchased one to give as a gift during the holidays, or who is thinking about buying one deserves to know if there is a safety defect.”

  Safety concerns related to the gadgets began popping up last month when a Louisiana family says the not-actually-a-hoverboard caused a fire that burned down their home. A similar incident was reported in New Jersey on Monday.

  Shortly after that episode, retailers, including Amazon and Target, began pulling the self-balancing scooters until manufacturers could provide proof of safety standard requirements.

  Hoverboard fire leads to evacuation at Deerbrook Mall [KHOU]

  
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ribbi

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWe’re Pretty Jealous Of This Kid Eating Bacon For The Very First Timer

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• If there’s one thing in life I regret, it’s that I can’t remember the first time I ever ate bacon (or cheese, for that matter. Or pizza. Or Nutella). But through the glory of technology, there’s a whole new generation of kids who will easily be able to look back on their initial interactions with food, glorious food, because their parents are armed with camera phones to preserve the experience in thrilling detail.

  Presenting: a child who, we are to surmise, has never tasted the crispy, savory, wonderful experience of eating bacon, until his parents filmed him for about a minute, exulting in his newfound gustatory appreciation and rehearsing the name of his new beloved over and over.

  “BACON! BACON! BAAACON!” he screams triumphantly, head tilted back, eyes closed.

  At least he’ll be able to grow up and point out the exact moment he fell for bacon, while the rest of us just have to imagine it was a pretty great moment in our lives that we’ll never get back.

  
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ribbi

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uTide Makes Powder Detergent Scoop Bigger For No Clear Reasonr

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• Reader N. has some laundry that’s pretty dirty. She has a toddler, who uses cloth diapers. Yet she’s never used more than one scoop of her preferred detergent, Tide powder. She was surprised recently to open up the box and find a bigger scoop inside the box. Who needs this much detergent? Is Procter & Gamble trying to get customers to overdose on suds?

  

  “I can’t imagine why someone would need the new scoop on the left, which suggests 5 levels and then some,” N. observes.

  We contacted Procter & Gamble, but they didn’t get back to us on this question. Our laundry enthusiast colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports keep an eye on these things, and have pointed out cases where confusing directions could lead customers to use too much detergent with Target’s store-brand detergent and even P&G’s own Ariel detergent. Procter & Gamble also makes Cheer brand detergent, which pulled a surprisingly similar super-scoop-sizing trick back in 2008.

  

  
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ribbi

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist