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Once a modest online seller of books, Amazon is now one of the largest companies in the world, and its former CEO, Jeff Bezos, is the world’s most wealthy person. We track developments, both of Bezos and Amazon, its growth as a video producer, the popular Prime service, as well as its own hardware, which includes the Amazon Kindle e-reader, Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, and Amazon Fire TV streaming boxes.

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Prepare your final popcorn bowls for the last Twitch Prime Video Watch Party.

A Twitch help page says it’s ending the feature that lets people watch Amazon Prime Video and chat together on April 2nd, as its usage has “declined over the years” since its 2020 rollout.

The feature lives on for Prime Video subscribers. But if you and your friends want to watch Ricky Stanicky or whatever, the host will need to have an ad-free subscription.


Watch Parties

[help.twitch.tv]

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Where do undelivered Amazon packages go?

One destination may be a shop like Pile ou Face, a store in Brussels that sells unwanted Amazon packages by weight. The operator says he has a contract with Amazon to sell packages that were never retrieved from pickup places, got lost, or were returned. Otherwise, they’d be destroyed.

Sometimes customers score smart watches or other pricey items. But sometimes, things get a little... weird. “A lady got 100 toothbrushes for dogs,” owner Arnaud Userstam told Reuters.


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Finally, a good use of AI.

Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry’s production companies are behind a documentary film for Prime Video about the only AI you can trust to be The Answer, Allen Iverson.

Now, through unprecedented access and personal stories, along with intimate interviews with family, friends, and fellow NBA players and coaches, Iverson shares a more reflective side of his present-day self, as he takes us on a journey through his storied history into the present day where he realizes his cultural impact long after his playing days have come to an end.


The Zoox come out at night.

Amazon’s robotaxi company is expanding its operating conditions in the two cities where it has been testing its autonomous vehicles, Foster City and Las Vegas. The robotaxis will start driving at night, as well as in light rain and damp road conditions. They will also starting driving at speeds of up to 45 mph on multi-lane roads. And in Las Vegas, it will start tackling roads along the south end of the Strip. Zoox’s purpose-built AVs (no steering wheel, no pedals) will start accepting real passengers later this year.


Zoox robotaxi at night
Gadzooks! It’s a Zoox at night!
Image: Zoox

How smart home technology made my home more accessible

A smart device may be a convenience to one person, but it could be a life-changer to another.

How caregivers are using smart tech to help aging parents

Smart home devices can offer independence, safety, and companionship.

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“If these chatbots are supposed to be magical, why are so many of them dumb as rocks?”

Shira Ovide at The Washington Post got to try Amazon’s shopping chatbot, Rufus. She’s not a fan:

I asked a few similar questions about the best cycling gloves to keep my hands warm in winter. In one search, a pair that the bot recommended were short-fingered cycling gloves intended for warm weather.

Shira never quite figured out what Rufus was thinking, and it led her to the big question: can you believe anything a chatbot tells you, ever, anywhere? And if not, what are we doing here?


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Whole Foods is planning to launch convenience stores for city-dwellers.

The Amazon-owned upscale grocer is launching Whole Foods Market Daily Shop stores.

The Seattle Times reports that, like at the larger stores, customers can pay using a palm print and associate it with their payment method through Amazon One, the biometric payments system Amazon debuted in 2020 that can be used to buy things or even verify you’re old enough to buy beer.


The Verge’s favorite smart home devices

We clean with low-end robovacs, use Stream Decks as light switches, and enjoy the luxury of smart beds.

How smart is the smart kitchen, really?

For part two of our Vergecast smart kitchen series, we let the kitchen do the cooking. Chaos ensues.

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Amazon skipped a hearing and now its lobbyists are banned from EU Parliament.

Fourteen Amazon employees can no longer access the European Parliament building without an invitation, WIRED reported Wednesday. And it’s all because they skipped a hearing about working conditions in its fulfillment centers and declined to let policymakers tour them (Amazon blamed the busy holiday period, WIRED said).


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What makes the Echo Hub stand out?

Basically, it’s just a better smart home device than the company’s Echo Show smart display, but there’s more to it. The Verge’s Jen Tuohy gives you the rundown. Be sure to check out her full review for more detail.


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Amazon’s Freevee is reportedly on its way out.

The company’s five-year-old ad-supported streaming service could still survive if users revolt against the introduction of ads in Prime Video, according to Adweek.

But even if it does sunset the Freevee app, Amazon will reportedly keep the free, ad-supported tier around, incorporating it into Prime Video and using Freevee content to draw customers and funnel them toward its paid tiers.


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The second half of Invincible season 2 drops on March 14th.

It feels like the first half of Invincible’s second season only just dropped, but Amazon’s already gearing up to debut the second half next month.


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Samsung’s older TVs lose option to view a Ring doorbell’s camera feed.

As of this week, Samsung TVs released between 2018 and 2021 can’t show a video feed from the Ring Doorbell Pro, according to a support page. The news comes after Samsung also announced it would be dropping its TV’s built-in Google Assistant support as of March 1st, 2024.

Between this and the subscription price increases, it’s been a frustrating week for Ring owners.