In a federal lawsuit filed this week, Apple asserted that nearly all the iPhones, chargers and cables it surreptitiously purchased from online retailer Amazon were fakes.
"As part of its ongoing brand protection efforts, [Apple] has purchased well over 100 iPhone devices, Apple power products, and Lightning cables sold as genuine by sellers on Amazon.com and delivered through Amazon's 'Fulfillment by Amazon' program," Apple's complaint said of a nine-month operation. "Apple's internal examination and testing for these products revealed almost 90% of these products are counterfeit."
Although Apple did not target Amazon in the lawsuit -- instead, Apple sued Mobile Star, a New York-based former supplier to Amazon -- the retailer came off poorly in the complaint.
"Apple makes great efforts to combat the distribution and sale of counterfeit Apple products bearing its trademarks," the Cupertino, Calif. company's lawyers said. "Despite Apple's efforts, fake Apple products continue to flood Amazon.com. Each month, Apple identifies and reports many thousands of listings for counterfeit and infringing Apple products to Amazon.com under its notice and takedown procedures."
Monday's lawsuit took aim at Mobile Star because, after buying a dozen iPhone chargers and cables from Amazon, the e-tailer told Apple the products had been supplied by Mobile Star.
All 12 of the power-related iPhone products had been advertised by Amazon as genuine Apple gear -- often accompanied by product images copyrighted by Apple -- which sometimes came in packaging that mimicked Apple's or sported bogus Apple serial numbers. But each product purchased was counterfeit.
Apple's complaint went beyond damage to its brand or loss of revenue; instead, it steered toward safety.
"Apple tested a number of the Mobile Star-supplied power adapters it had purchased and each one failed the Hipot Test (high potential (high voltage) test), also known as the Dielectric Withstanding Voltage test, confirming that the products lack sufficient insulation and/or spacing between the high voltage and low voltage component and have the potential to overheat or deliver a lethal electric shock to a user of the device," the complaint charged.
"Visual inspection of counterfeit adapters that Apple disassembled showed the counterfeits have improper soldering of internal wiring and some even lack critical safety fuses to protect against overheating in the event of a power surge. To conceal the dangers that these Mobile Star products pose to consumers, many also bear a phony UL safety certification," Apple added.
After Apple told Amazon of its findings, the retailer revealed Mobile Star as the supplier of the hardware, then turned over the rest of the Mobile Star inventory to Apple for testing.
Apple said letters sent to Mobile Star in June initially went unanswered, but when the vendor did respond, it claimed it had bought the goods from "reputable suppliers," then refused to divulge any additional information.
The lawsuit asked the federal court to stop Mobile Star and a host of "John Does" from distributing any more fake Apple products, and award Apple up to $2 million per counterfeit mark.
Love pro football but don't have cable TV? It's finally possible to watch all local and nationally televised games, plus NFL RedZone.
Update:Get ready for Thursday's night's match-up between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. Take a look at our guide to all the ways you can watch the game and cancel your expensive cable subscription!
Thanks in part to new streaming options for cord-cutters, it’s possible to watch all your local NFL games without cable, along with all nationally televised games on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday nights. With the NFL season just a week away, now’s a good time to run through all the ways* that cord cutters can watch or stream NFL games, so you’ll be ready for kickoff:
Over-the-air antenna
As it was last season, the best way to watch NFL games for free is with an over-the-air TV antenna. Cheap indoor antennas sell for as little as $15, while more expensive flat designs from Mohu and Winegard can mount on a wall or to a window. All the major networks typically broadcast in high definition, so with a strong enough signal, the quality should be comparable to the set-top box you’d rent from a service provider (or perhaps even better, since the broadcast signal isn’t as compressed).
Mohu
An indoor antenna like the Mohu ReLeaf could be all you need to watch in-market NFL games for free.
All you need besides the antenna is a coaxial input on your television; and with additional hardware, you can even add DVR capabilities to your antenna, or stream the video to other devices around the house over Wi-Fi. If your TV was manufactured prior to the 2009 digital TV transition, you might also need an analog-to-digital conversion box.
NFL games you’ll get (reception permitting):
All local Sunday day games on CBS and Fox
All Sunday night games on NBC
Ten Thursday Night Football games (CBS on weeks 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7; NBC on weeks 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16)
Sling TV
With “skinny” streaming bundles such as Sling TV, you can now get live channels that previously required a cable subscription, while still avoiding the sneaky pricing tactics and oversized bundles that tend to make cable so expensive.
Sling TV splits ESPN and NFL Network into separate channel bundles. You’ll need Sling Orange to get the former and Sling Blue to get the latter.
That said, deciphering what NFL coverage you’ll get with Sling TV is a bit tricky. Local NBC and Fox feeds are available only in select markets, so if you only get on-demand access to those channels, you won’t get the games. Meanwhile, ESPN and NFL Network are split into separate bundles. The former requires Sling Orange for $20 per month, while the latter requires Sling Blue for $25 per month, though you can get them together for $40 per month total. Sling Blue users can also add NFL RedZone for an extra $5 per month through the Sports Extra add-on. This story has a complete guide to all the Sling TV channels.
NFL games you’ll get:
All local Sunday day games on Fox (with Sling Blue in local broadcast areas only; see Sling’s website for supported cities)
All Sunday Night Football games and five Thursday Night Football games on NBC (with Sling Blue in local broadcast areas only; see Sling’s website for supported cities)
All Thursday Night Football games on NFL Network (with Sling Blue)
All Monday Night Football games on ESPN (with Sling Orange)
NFL RedZone (with Sling Blue and the Sports Extra add-on)
Supported platforms: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, Channel Master DVR, iOS, Android, PC, Mac
Don’t miss this other great story about watching football: Second-screen apps make NFL games even more fun to watch
PlayStation Vue
Sling isn’t your only streaming bundle option for live NFL games. You can also subscribe to Sony’s PlayStation Vue service and get all the same coverage options.
Here again, the way it works can be confusing. NBC and Fox games require a non-”Slim” package, which includes live local channels. This is available in select markets and costs $10 more than Vue’s “Slim” bundles. CBS, meanwhile, is available in some areas with Slim packages, and some areas with that don’t carry non-Slim packages. The best way to figure out what you can get is to visit Sony’s PlayStation Vue plan page and plug in your zip code.
NFL Network is included in the PlayStation Vue Core and Elite packages; you can get an entire season of NFL RedZone for an additional $40.
As for ESPN, the former is included in all PlayStation Vue plans (starting at $30 per month in most markets), while NFL Network is part of the Core ($35 per month) and Elite ($45 per month) packages. If you get NFL Network, an extra $40 delivers NFL RedZone for the entire season.
NFL games you’ll get:
All local Sunday day games on Fox (with any non-Slim plan; check your zip code on Sony’s website)
All local Sunday day games and five Thursday Night Football games on CBS (in supported cities; check your zip code on Sony’s website)
All Sunday Night Football games and five Thursday Night Football games on NBC (with any non-Slim plan; check your zip code on Sony’s website)
All Monday Night Football games on ESPN
All Thursday Night Football games on NFL Network (with Core or Elite plans)
NFL Redzone (with Core or Elite plans, plus a one-time fee of $40)
Supported platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Amazon Fire TV, Roku. After signing up through one of those devices, access is also available through iOS, Android, and Chromecast
Twitter
No, seriously. After paying a rumored $10 million for the privilege, Twitter will live-stream 10 Thursday Night Football games—the same ones that will air on CBS and NBC—for free. All you need is a device that can access Twitter.
NFL games you’ll get: 10 Thursday Night Football games (weeks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16)
Supported platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, the web. An Apple TV app is rumored
Mooching someone’s cable login
In the legal and moral gray area of password sharing, it’s possible to get a fair amount of NFL coverage. That’s because NBC, Fox, ESPN, and NFL Network/Redzone all offer live-streaming apps to anyone who gets their channels through a traditional pay-TV package. (PlayStation Vue subscribers can authenticate through these apps as well.)
NFL games you’ll get (subscriber must receive the corresponding channel):
All Sunday Night Football games and five Thursday Night Football games on NBC Sports Live Extra
All local Sunday day games on Fox Sports Go
All Monday Night Football games on WatchESPN
All Thursday Night Football games on NFL.com
NFL RedZone on NFL.com
Devices:
NBC Sports Live Extra: Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, iOS, Android, Windows, web
Fox Sports Go: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Android, Windows, web
WatchESPN: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, iOS, Android, Windows, web
NFL: iPad, Android tablets, Apple TV, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Web browsers
NFL Game Pass
As a last resort, NFL Game Pass lets you watch every regular season game for a one-time charge of $99—with one major catch: You can’t watch the games live. Instead, Sunday day games become available after the 4 p.m. round of games conclude, while night games become available immediately after the live telecast is over. (The package does include live radio broadcasts if you get impatient.)
NFL Game Pass
NFL Game Pass lets you watch all the regular-season games for a one-time fee of $99. But you won’t be able to watch them live.
Devices: Apple TV, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, Windows
* There are a couple of intentional omissions from this guide: Pirated sources, which are too unreliable and adware-ridden to list, and DirecTV’s streaming Sunday Ticket package, which is available only if you physically can’t put a satellite dish on your roof. (It’s outrageously expensive anyway.)
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Why you won't need Comcast or Charter to wrangle all your online video services.
Credit: Thinkstock
Aside from lower bills and greater flexibility, one of the many benefits of ditching cable TV is that you’re less dependent on an industry with historically awful customer relationships. The less one has to interact with Comcast or Charter or DirecTV or—well, you name the service provider—the better.
But cutting ties with cable TV does have a downside: Instead of dealing with just one company for TV services, you might have to manage multiple streaming accounts. As the number of online video services proliferates, you might wish there was a way to bundle them all together under one bill—kind of like you did with cable.
Unfortunately, cable TV cheerleaders seem incapable of looking at this problem with fresh eyes. As always, when cord cutting presents a new challenge, they reflexively point to the cable TV industry as the answer. It’s no surprise, then, that some pro-cable pundits believe Comcast and Charter will be the streaming bundlers of the future, rolling up online video services the same way they do with traditional TV channels now.
A recent piece by Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff encapuslates this argument:
Instead of subscribing to all of these services piecemeal, you’ll probably pay for an all-in-one streaming bundle, complete with a set-top box that will enable you to search through all of their inventories for exactly what you want. You’ll have access to all of the bigwigs, then choose various subscription tiers for how many niche services you want. Just like your current cable subscription.
The future of TV, in other words, looks a lot like the present of TV—and your friendly local cable company will probably still be bringing it to you, no matter how much you might groan to hear that.
While there is value in bundling multiple video services under a single bill, that doesn’t mean cable companies—with their unfair pricing, sluggish technology upgrades, and poor customer service—should be the ones to do it. Millions of people are now streaming video on devices from Apple, Amazon, Roku, and Google; those are the companies who should be in charge of the bundling as more networks push their own streaming services.
Why the new bundlers will be better
Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff argues that cable companies are in a better position than anyone else to bundle TV services at low prices because of their large, geographically segregated audiences:
If a major media company walks away from the table with Comcast, they’re going to lose a lot of customers in Comcast-dominated cities like Philadelphia, Denver, and Atlanta. They can’t go to other cable companies like Time Warner or Charter to reach those same customers.
What VanDerWerff doesn’t mention is that the cost of cable TV has escalated out of control in recent years as TV networks demand more revenue for the same content (especially sports). The average cable bill now costs more than $100 per month, up 39 percent between 2011 and 2015, according to Leichtman Research Group. Cable and satellite companies don’t really want to drop those networks from their megabundles, so their ability to negotiate is limited in practice.
Streaming video has introduced a new dynamic, in which customers can finally vote with their wallets against rising costs. And guess what? It’s working. Netflix’s monthly price has only increased by $2 since 2011, and Amazon Prime has only gotten a single price hike of $20 annually (roughly $1.67 per month) since its inception. Hulu, meanwhile, has held steady on pricing, as have newer services like HBO Now, CBS All Access, and Showtime. (VanDerWerff tries to claim that the cost of all these streaming services adds up to something greater than cable, but this argument proves bogus if you actually do the math.)
The advantage of devices like Apple TV and Amazon’s Fire TV is that they’re built around the streaming model. They’re unbound by the legacy cable business and its inability to avoid giant bundles. As such, they appeal to the rapidly growing number of people who’ve either walked away from cable or never had it in the first place. (Skinny bundles such as Sling TV are an attempt to bridge the gap, but as I’ve argued, these services are just transitional on the way to more standalone options.)
When it comes to tying multiple online video services together, those streaming platforms will have plenty of bargaining power. Roku has 10 million active users. Amazon Prime, by one unofficial estimate, has 54 million U.S. subscribers. Google has sold 30 million Chromecasts to date. Some analysts expect Apple to sell 24 million TV boxes this year. Why wouldn’t content providers want to be part of attractive bundles on those platforms?
From “one bill” to “one bundle”
Today, the groundwork for bundling online video is already in place, as Apple, Amazon, Roku, and Google all have their own billing systems that streaming providers can hook into.
Apple users, for instance, can subscribe to more than a dozen streaming services directly through iTunes, including Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Showtime, Starz, and CBS All Access. All subscriptions are billed to the same credit card, and all of them can be managed through the iOS Settings menu or within the iTunes app—a process that’s far less painful than calling up your cable company to cut back service.
Amazon, meanwhile, goes a step further with Amazon Channels, an a la carte subscription service for on-demand video. Provided you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can tack on channels like Starz and Showtime, along with online services like Acorn, SeeSo, and CuriosityStream. Again, all of these services get tied to a single credit card and are managed through Amazon’s customer account portal. Amazon told The Information this week that the offering has been a hit with Hollywood studios.
Amazon is slowly rebuilding the bundle with on-demand “Channels.”
Amazon’s approach offers a glimpse at what streaming video bundling should look like: With a device like Fire TV, you get a single interface for browsing and searching across all your subscription content, and you can add or remove subscriptions with just a few taps of the remote. This system already exists today on Amazon devices; you’d be crazy to think that Amazon’s competitors aren’t working on anything similar.
Once these systems are in place, it’s just a short hop to the notion of saving money by bundling multiple services together. Again, Amazon is already dabbling in the “bundle and save” concept, offering discounts on both Showtime and its new Music Unlimited service for Prime subscribers. Google bundles on-demand streaming music with its ad-free YouTube Red service. Meanwhile, analysts have been chattering about a potential all-in subscription service from Apple.
In the long term, as the number of subscription services grows, it’s not hard to imagine companies getting more creative with their bundles. You might see, for instance, a discount for getting multiple channels from the same network, or a multi-network bundle that applies to a particular genre. Effectively, they’ll rebuild the bundle around the principles of flexibility and choice.
Bundling as a concept is a good thing, because it promotes more savings for consumers and more subscribers for content creators. It’s just the cable bundle in particular—with its inflexible price structure, costly __hardware rental fees, and poor customer service—that is failing. Instead of counting on the cable companies to save themselves, let’s look to the companies who’ve been trying to build something better.
For a wholly different perspective, take a look at this story about how well Comcast has integrated Netflix into its Xfinity X1 set-top box.
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Nintendo finally revealed the hybrid game console previously known as the NX with a new trailer that shows off its design, planned games, and official name: Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo Switch Console Design
The Nintendo Switch consists of several individual pieces, including a display, two detachable controllers, and a docking station. The display portion of the system appears to be the most important, as it allows the Switch to be used as a portable game console.
The two detachable controllers each look like half of a typical gamepad. They attach to either side of the display when it’s used as a handheld gaming device, and they can also be connected to the skeleton of a more traditional game controller when the Nintendo Switch is used as a home console.
Nintendo built a stand into the display that allows it to be propped up on a table, counter, or other flat surface. When the console is set up thusly, the detachable controllers can be used wirelessly, allowing for a more comfortable gaming experience and multiplayer games to be played on a single display. Although some games will likely require one player to use both controllers, the trailer also showed two people using one detachable controller each.
These features will make it easier for people to play games with their friends while they’re on the go. Unlike many other handheld game systems, The Switch doesn’t require anyone to purchase a second controller, bring their own system, or rely on a network connection -- everything is included in one device. This might not be the case for gaming on the big screen, however, as the trailer shows a more traditional game controller that might have to be purchased separately.
In the trailer, that separate controller was used when the Nintendo Switch was connected to a television set via its docking station. The station appears to be used to charge the console, too, and to allow multiple controllers to be used for multiplayer games.
Hardware & Software
Following the launch of the Nintendo trailer, Nvidia announced that the Switch uses a Tegra processor designed exclusively for the console. We weren’t given exact details on core count, but Nvidia implied that the Switch’s GPU is based on the Pascal architecture. The GPU is also reinforced by a revamped physics engine, new code libraries, and specialized game tools. The system also uses a new API codenamed "NVN."
Nvidia also said that the SoC has enhanced __hardware for accelerating video playback and audio effects.
We also got a peek at some software titles that will run on the Switch. In addition to supporting the upcoming Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the trailer also showed the Switch running a game that looks like the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mario Kart, an unnamed basketball game, and a new Mario title.
As a few of these are Wii U games, it appears that Nintendo may be porting its Wii U titles to the Nintendo Switch. If this is true, then the Switch could launch with a solid library of games.
Can The Switch Save Nintendo?
The Wii U has had lackluster sales since it was introduced four years ago, and many gamers have questioned whether or not Nintendo will be able to survive in the home game console market. Others have also questioned if Nintendo should turn its attention to producing games for other devices rather than its own.
Though the company has struggled in the home console market in recent years, it should be noted that sales of Nintendo’s handheld game systems have been strong. The company has sold more than 200 million Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS handhelds combined over the last several years, with software sales for these devices exceeding 1.2 billion units.
Given this information, it would be natural for Nintendo to focus its attention on the handheld market, but the Switch does more than that. Thanks to the docking station, the Switch is able to function just like a home game console, which may attract gamers that want a device for gaming at home and on the go.
Nintendo didn’t give us an update about the Nintendo Switch’s price or release date, but it is expected to be released sometime in March 2017.
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that websites in the EU are free to store IP addresses if it can help them improve the security of their websites. The websites can do it even without user consent, which is normally required by EU Data Protection laws when website operators want to store data beyond the information necessary for billing.
Anonymous Web Surfing
Patrick Breyer from the German Pirate Party launched a lawsuit against the German government for storing IP addresses of visitors arguing that users have a right to surf the web anonymously. The Federal German institutions were storing IP addresses to prevent cybernetic attacks and make it possible to bring criminal proceedings.
The right to surf anonymously may still be in place if users themselves take measures for surfing anonymously, such as using Tor or a VPN. However, according to the CJEU, the government and other organizations can still legally register and store the IP addresses they see connecting to their sites, if they can use them to stop cyber attacks.
The issue at hand was also about whether storing dynamic IP addresses, which is what Breyer was using, represents an infringement on privacy. By definition, dynamic IP address change automatically, so it wouldn’t be possible to easily identify a person through the IP address unless the government also requests more information from the user’s ISP.
Ensuring Continued Site Functioning
The CJEU believes that website operators can register and process user data without consent as long as there is a legitimate interest in ensuring the continued functioning of the websites. However, that interest should go beyond a specific use of their publicly accessible websites. In this case, the IP address data can be used to prevent cyber attacks, which is something all websites may have to do to ensure their continued functioning.
The Court also said that the use of data should not override the fundamental rights of users (from the Charter of Fundamental Rights). In other words, websites shouldn’t collect data for purposes of, for instance, mass surveillance, which the Court has said before is non-proportional and indiscriminate, violating the fundamental right to privacy.
Good News For Facebook?
A Belgian court ruled earlier this year that Facebook can’t track non-users through cookies (which is a little different than tracking by IP); Facebook responded by positing that the tracking is necessary to protect Facebook users against cyber attacks, among other things. Facebook ended up winning that case because of a jurisdictional issue, but it may have to face the same case again at a later time, whether in Ireland, where its data gathering happens, or elsewhere.
Mohu 
NFL Game Pass 
