Social media influencers – like Instagram stars or YouTube celebs – often promote products they like, either as part of a brand relationship or as means of generating income through affiliate sales. Now, Amazon is looking to get in on this action as well. The company has quietly launched the “Amazon Influencer Program,” which is currently in beta testing as of a couple… Read More
from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/31/amazon-quietly-launches-its-own-social-media-influencer-program-into-beta/?ncid=rss
The Windows Creators Update is something of a big deal for the operating system with over 400 million users, but the gist of it is taking aim at gamers and yes, creators. Paint 3D is very much what it sounds like, while the rest of Windows 10 has a unified approach with Ink (pen integration). Smaller but still powerful features, like the Game Mode aim to even optimize a PC’s gaming… 
UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd is holding talks with several major Internet companies today to urge them to be more proactive about tackling the spread of extremist content online. Companies in attendance include Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook, along with some smaller Internet companies. 
Amazon will shut down Diapers.com and the other websites operated by its Quidsi division, the company confirmed to Bloomberg today, citing the division’s lack of profitability as the reason behind the decision. Quidsi’s acquisition by Amazon for $545 million was announced back in November 2010, and included the flagship Diapers.com brand, as well as the other one- to two-word… 
Xbox One is getting an update starting today, echoing some of the major changes coming to Windows in its forthcoming Creators Update. The big new additions include streaming via Microsoft’s own Twitch competitor Beam, as well as a brand new Xbox user experience made up of a new design for Guide, improvements to Home and more. The new features are designed around encouraging gamers to… 
After months of teasing, Microsoft is finally ready to ship the Windows 10 Creators Update, the next major iteration of its desktop operating system, to its users. The free update will start rolling out globally on April 11. This process usually takes a few weeks, but users will also be able to force the update from their Windows settings. As the name implies, the focus of the update is on… 
I did a bad thing. I opened a bad file and it borked my PC. So as part of the grand tradition of frustrated tech bloggers calling on enormous companies to conform to their expectations, here is my rant on how terrible computers are — Windows ones, this time anyway — and how they ought to be. 
Video game streaming site Twitch will soon begin selling PC games and other in-game content on its site, the company says. We understand the games may arrive as soon as tomorrow or later this week, though the exact timing is still in flux. Already one of the top destinations for live streaming and fan engagement, it’s not surprising that Twitch would take the final step to become a… 
Amazon today confirmed that it has acquired Souq.com, an e-commerce marketplace serving the Middle East based out of Dubai, which was already commonly described as “the Amazon of the Middle East.” We had reported last week that the companies had already reached an agreement and that “the ink [was] dry” on a deal that was valued at around $650 million. Amazon today… 
AWS continues to add yet more software and services to build out its revenues and touchpoints with businesses that already use its cloud infrastructure for storage and to host and administer services and apps. The latest product, launching today, is Amazon Connect, a cloud-based contact center solution. AWS said it is based on the same tech that Amazon itself has built and uses in-house… 
Amazon’s grocery efforts just got a new level of convenience for shoppers: AmazonFresh Pickup, a drive-in grocery delivery right to your car’s trunk, launching in beta on Tuesday. Shoppers just order online from AmazonFresh’s selection, pick a time slot (as soon as 15 minutes after you make your order), and then drive to an AmazonFresh Pickup location and pull into a… 
Following a series of beta trials, Microsoft officially announced this morning that it’s bringing its virtual assistant Cortana to the lock screen of Android devices. Initially, Microsoft had tested putting an overview of your day on the lock screen – offering information like the day’s weather, commute times, flight or meeting information, and more – where it could be… 
As the hotel industry wages war against Airbnb, companies making voice-powered assistants are also heading to battle in the hotel room itself. Bloomberg reports that Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri are vying for a spot in Marriott International’s Aloft chain of hotel rooms, with both in testing at the Aloft Boston Seaport location to help inform the lodging giant’s… 
Amazon’s brick-and-mortar retail plans currently focus on its ongoing roll-out of physical book stores, as well as its very limited experiments with cashier-less convenience, but it could expand those ambitions significantly with a number of plans currently in the works. The New York Times reports that it’s also exploring ways it might retail appliances and furniture, two categories… 