Daily Links for Wednesday, February 10, 2016:
Hacked Toy Company VTech’s TOS Now Says It’s Not Liable for Hacks (Motherboard) – This is a pretty smarmy move….
A smart fan that decides whether you are worthy of being cooled (Ars Technica) – The implication of an Internet of ethical things is somewhat disturbing.
Feeling Loved Without Followers (Techcrunch) – The supposed rationale behind the new Twitter timeline changes. And here’s how to turn them off…
Newsweek Is Dropping Its Paywall (Advertising Age) – This paywall situation is getting confusing, with some dropping them and other sites putting them up.
VSCO is now publishing original content on its platform (The Verge) – Interesting to see this photography app branching out into more editorial content.
Skype is getting musical Mojis made by Paul McCartney (The Next Web) – Paul McCartney and emojis? Need I say more?
Deals of the Day:
Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal includes Joyland by Steven King and Wish List by Fern Michaels for 99 cents each.
The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Twelve Months by Steven Manchester for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Viscount Who Loved Me With 2nd Epilogue by Julia Quinn for $1.99.
Kobo’s Daily Deal is Joyland by Stephen King for 99 cents.
iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig for $2.99.
(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.
Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)
Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.
The eBook Evangelist 
VTECH’s TOS isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. As I learned in a college business class, you can’t terms-of-service your way out of a negligence finding. They can still be successfully sued for negligence now or in the future regardless of what their TOS says.
Personally, I wonder if it isn’t designed to try to intimidate people out of filing a suit? To make someone think they have already waived their rights so they don’t bother to file? It still seems like a “blame the victim” mentality. Hence the smarmy aspect…. 🙂