Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Thursday 26 OcTOber 2017 TECHNOLOGY
A24

Not at home? Amazon wants to come

in and drop off packages

By JOSEPH PISANI service in California’s Sili-
AP Retail Writer con Valley, which lets deliv-
NEW YORK (AP) — Don’t ery people drop off pack-
want Amazon boxes sitting ages or stock the fridge
on the porch? The compa- with groceries bought from
ny hopes you’ll let a strang- Walmart.com. The delivery
er inside to drop them off. person is given a one-time
Amazon said Wednesday code to open the door and
it’ll launch a service called Walmart said customers will
Amazon Key next month get an alert on their smart-
that will let people allow phones when someone
the door to be unlocked enters. For Amazon, the
when they’re not there so in-home delivery service
packages can be left in- helps it enter the fast-grow-
side. ing home security camera
The proposal drew plenty In this Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017, file photo, an employee packages market, competing with
of humorous reactions on a product at the Amazon Fulfillment center in Robbinsville Google’s Nest cameras,
social media, as well as Township, N.J. said Martin Garner, a de-
concerns about safety or Associated Press vice and internet analyst at
delivery employees being the service would need to eo on Amazon’s Fire tablet, CCS Insight. Tying the cam-
mistaken for intruders. Am- be Amazon Prime mem- Fire TV or its voice-activat- era in with the in-home de-
azon said the drivers would bers and would have to ed Echo devices that have livery service gives people
be well-vetted, while one buy a camera and a Wi-Fi- a video screen. a reason to buy it, said Gar-
expert said the company connected lock from the The service is likely to be ner.
has built up trust with cus- Seattle-based company more of a hit with young- “They’ve been on a mission
tomers and younger cus- that starts at $250. Shoppers er families, said Timothy to do this,” said Garner.
tomers were more likely will then be able to choose Carone, an associate Amazon.com Inc. said in-
to try it out. An in-home in-home delivery as an op- teaching professor at Uni- home delivery will be avail-
delivery program also falls tion in the Amazon app. versity of Notre Dame’s able Nov. 8 in 37 cities, in-
in line with Amazon’s strat- When the delivery person Mendoza College of Busi- cluding Atlanta, Cleveland
egy of trying to make shop- shows up, they will knock ness. He said millennials are and Denver. The company
ping with it so convenient first and scan the package. already comfortable post- says the service is covered
that consumers don’t think Amazon will make sure the ing photos and their where- by the Amazon Key Hap-
about buying elsewhere. person is at the right home abouts on Facebook, In- piness Guarantee, which
And with the option requir- and unlock the door. No stagram and other social applies to delivery issues,
ing a specific camera that codes or keys are needed, media. property damage or theft.
it sells, the move helps Am- and the indoor camera will “They’re less concerned And Amazon said the de-
azon tie customers even record the in-home deliv- about privacy than older liveries are carried out by
closer to its gadgets as well ery. The Amazon Cloud generations are,” Carone drivers who are vetted with
as the items it delivers. Cam also lets users watch a said. background checks and
Customers who want to use livestream or recorded vid- Walmart is testing a similar driving record reviews.q

Twitter to disclose info on

political ads amid scrutiny

By BARBARA ORTUTAY requirements as political
AP Technology Writer broadcast and print adver-
NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter tising. Companies would
says it will provide more in- have to make “reasonable
formation about political efforts” to ensure that elec-
ads on its service, including tion ads are not purchased
who is funding them and directly or indirectly by a
how they are targeted. foreign entity, something
The move follows similar already prohibited by law.
steps by Facebook and the Twitter said Tuesday it will
introduction of a bill that require ads that refer to a
seeks to bring more trans- candidate or party to be This Wednesday, April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app
parency to online political clearly identified as elec- on a mobile phone in Philadelphia.
ads in an attempt to lessen tion ads. The company will Associated Press
the influence of Russia and also require the organiza- mation such as how long that Russia-linked accounts
other foreign entities on tion funding the ads to they’ve been running. Us- reportedly used to stoke
U.S. elections. The bill would disclose its identity, along ers will also be able to see racial and other tensions
require social media com- with how much money it what ads are targeted at in the U.S. In a statement,
panies like Facebook and is spending on each ad them. Twitter didn’t out- Twitter said it is “commit-
Twitter to keep public re- campaign. line new policies on “issue- ted to stricter policies and
cords on election ads and For non-political ads, Twit- based” ads. These are the transparency around is-
meet the same disclaimer ter will provide limited infor- sorts of advertisements sues-based ads”.q