Researchers Claim The Disease That Is Facebook Will Fade Out In A Matter Of Years

(Raymond Bryson)

While we’ve all been sitting here worried about the coming zombie apocalypse, the truth is we’ve already been infected. But instead of rotting flesh and vacant eyes, we’ve been infected by Facebook (which also is known to cause vacant eyes and drooling if you stare at it too long). Researchers say the cure is coming, or at least this infectious disease will fade out in the coming years.

Researchers at Princeton University say that the social network is like an infectious disease, which has a hefty spike before plummeting to its death, reports the AFP. Or its decline, same thing.

The two doctoral candidates in mechanical and aerospace engineering say Facebook will shed 80% of its users by 2017. As things stand right now, if we set Facebook’s total users at about 1.1 billion (according to recent claims) that would mean 880,000,000 people jumping ship. Ooh, fewer baby pictures to sort through!

The researchers make these claims in a new paper published online, which incorporates the rise and fall of Facebook’s social network predecessor MySpace. The clock is ticking, say the authors.

“Ideas, like diseases, have been shown to spread infectiously between people before eventually dying out, and have been successfully described with epidemiological models,” they wrote.

Things have been going downhill in terms of data usage since 2012, the study adds, and things will only get worse.

“Facebook is expected to undergo rapid decline in the upcoming years, shrinking to 20 percent of its maximum size by December 2014,” said the report. “Extrapolating the best fit model into the future suggests that Facebook will undergo a rapid decline in the coming years, losing 80 percent of its peak user base between 2015 and 2017.”

The piece is still waiting to undergo the peer review process before it’s formally published. No doubt others will come out with a study saying Facebook will someday morph into an all-knowing robot being who can read our minds and control our every moves as part of some kind of hive-mind society.



Facebook could fade out like a disease [AFP]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

After 5 Years On The Market, Someone Is Finally Buying Cameron’s House From ‘Ferris Bueller’

“When Cameron was in Egypt’s land… Let my Cameron go…”

By the time we started covering the attempted sale of the Highland Park, IL, house made famous as the site of where Cameron kills his dad’s Ferrari in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off it had already been on sale for two years. That was in 2011. In those years, the price has dropped by more than a million dollars, but no one seemed interested in picking up this piece of ’80s cinema history, until now.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the 1953 A. James Speyer-designed home, complete with the glassed-in garage sticking out over a ravine that eats classic cars, is finally under contract.

The sale price is not yet known, but the house was most recently listed for $1.25 million. That’s more than a million dollars off the original 2009 asking price of $2.3 million.

In 2011, the price plunged to $1.65 million, but still couldn’t attract any buyers. As recently as last August, the sellers knocked off another $150,000 to get the asking price to $1.5 million. Even then, there were no takers.

Let’s just hope this is the final chapter in the Cameron’s house saga, and that the new owners don’t allow their mopey children anywhere near their expensive rides.

Speaking of which…

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

College Student Protests Tuition Hike By Paying With Singles

(Omer Wazir)

Like many schools around the country, tuition at the University of Utah has soared in the last decade. In-state students at this school are now paying more than double what students paid only a decade ago, with another 5% increase coming. In minor protest of these rate hikes, one Utah student chose to express his feelings by paying his tuition in singles.

The Salt Lake Tribune spoke to the 21-year-old electrical engineering student as he stood in line waiting to pay the balance of his tuition bill at the Student Services building, cradling a metal case containing 2,000 dollar bills.

Even though the student receives a discount on tuition because his father is on the faculty, he felt it was important to get the word out about the increasing cost of an education.

“By no means am I the saddest story on campus. There’s a lot of people here just as bad and probably worse,” he told the Tribune. “The people making the prices are not actually aware of how hard it is on the students.”

The hope, he explains, is that other students will follow his lead in future semesters.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the cost of a college education has increased tenfold during the last three decades, far outpacing the rate of inflation. Even as the economy tanked following the collapse of the housing market in 2008, tuitions continued to soar.

Public institutions like the University of Utah are in a particular pickle, facing increasing costs while cash-strapped states contribute less to higher education.

The increased cost to students has resulted in student loan debt that now totals more than $1 trillion in the U.S. This heavier student loan burden is preventing a number of recent college graduates from making important investments, like buying their first home, starting a retirement savings account, or saving for their own kids’ education.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

We’re Just Shocked That It Took This Long For Someone To Create Beer-Flavored Jelly Beans

Beer is here.

The big news in candy land is that JellyBelly has a new beer-flavored jelly bean. Which sure, is news, but only because we can’t believe it took this long. Because we Americans, when we like something, like cheese or bacon or beer? We just love bending it to our will and turning it into new foods. So beer candy? Yep, about time.

The company says it took some thinking to settle on which exact kind of beer to build a flavor on, finally deciding on a Hefeweizen-inspired ale flavor for its Draft Beer Jelly Belly jelly beans.

The new flavor as unleashed at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this week and ISM in Cologne, Germany.

So why the wait, Jelly Belly or any other company that would decide to take on beer and candy? The company says they didn’t want to mess anything up for the rest of us.

“This took about three years to perfect,” says Ambrose Lee, research and development manager for Jelly Belly Candy Company. “The recipe includes top secret ingredients, but I can tell you it contains no alcohol.”

Instead, the “effervescent and crisp flavor is packed in a golden jelly bean with an iridescent finish.” So it tastes like beer, with a mildly bready aroma and a flavor profile that might remind you of beer, but it’s safe for anyone of any age to eat.

“Anyone who enjoys a good, cold beer will enjoy Draft Beer Jelly Belly beans for the simple fact that it tastes just as you’d imagine,” says Rob Swaigen, vice president of marketing for Jelly Belly Candy Company.

Except for the cold and liquidy and actual beer part, but hey, that’s what beer is for.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Why Is Express Scripts Making Me Buy A New Blood Glucose Meter?

As diabetics, people with diabetic loved ones, and anyone who has seen a TV commercial starring Wilford Brimley all know, keeping track of one’s blood glucose levels is an important part of staying healthy with diabetes. But what happens when you suddenly can’t get the supplies that you need for the brand of meter that you’ve chosen because your health insurer will only cover one brand of meter?

Some people who get their prescription coverage through ExpressScripts are upset because as of the first of the year, the company will only cover supplies for OneTouch meters. The customers have to buy new meters: that’s the only option. Reader Mike alerted us to this issue, noting the struggle from his point of view in the pharmacy line behind fellow customers taken by surprise.

“I’ve been in line at the pharmacy with many, many angry people, unaware that the change had even been made at the beginning of this year,” Mike writes. “Especially for those on a fixed income, this is an expense they did not need to incur.”

New glucose monitor systems usually have substantial rebates available, since buying a monitor locks the customer into buying that brand’s supplies. Not all consumers know this, though, and not all pharmacies will take the time to walk their customers through choosing a new meter.

We contacted Express Scripts to ask about the change, and they told us that the meter swap was sue to changes to preferred formulary that about 30% of their customers use. “Formulary” is health insurance-speak for “the drugs that we will cover.”

“[I]n the many instances when multiple products are clinically equivalent to one another, we – the nation, its employers, and its patients – are all better off when we choose the more affordable options,” an Express Scripts representative helpfully told Consumerist.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Tests Confirm High Level Of Possible Carcinogen In Pepsi Products

(Paxton Holley)

As recently as last summer, Pepsi was called out for continuing to use a controversial caramel coloring — one that is labeled a possible carcinogen and whose use is regulated in California — in spite of calls for an end to its use. New tests from our coworkers at Consumer Reports confirm that Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi One all contain significantly high levels of the ingredient.

The coloring agent has the mouthful name of 4-methylimidazole but is also known by 4-MEI. Under California law, beverages containing more than 29 micrograms of 4-MEI must come with a warning label.

CR tested various sodas, purchased in both California and New York, over two periods of time.

The first round of testing was done between April and September of 2013. During that time period, the California Pepsi drinks all showed high levels of 4-MEI with both Diet Pepsi and Pepsi One showing levels above the 29 microgram threshold.

For the New York Pepsi drinks tested during the April-September period, the 4-MEI levels were much, much higher. Tests on Pepsi in NY found 174.4 micrograms of the chemical. Diet Pepsi test turned up 182.7 micrograms, while Pepsi One had the highest level — 195.3 micrograms.

Testing again in December showed that the California Pepsi drinks were still hovering around the 29 microgram line. In that test, Diet Pepsi was below the threshold, but now regular Pepsi had surpassed it.

When CR tested the New York versions of these drinks again in December 2013, both Pepsi and Diet Pepsi had notably lower levels of 4-MEI, about in line with what had been found in California. However, the Pepsi One test still showed a significant level of 4-MEI — 160.8 micrograms.

Given that Pepsi can’t seem to consistently get its products under the 29 microgram line, Consumer Reports has asked the California Attorney General’s office to investigate to determine if the company is in violation of state law.

Pepsi’s explanation for the high levels of 4-MEI is typical corporate nonsense. From the CR article:

After we informed PepsiCo of our test results, the company issued a statement that said that Proposition 65 is based on per day exposure and not exposure per can. It also cited government consumption data that shows that the average amount of diet soda consumed by people who drink it is 100 milliliters per day, or less than a third of a 12-ounce can. For that reason, they believe that Pepsi One does not require cancer-risk warning labels—even if the amount of 4-MEI in a single can exceeds 29 micrograms.

Who in the world is only drinking 100 milliliters of diet soda a day? Most diet cola drinkers I know have recycling bins full of empties and consume the stuff compulsively.

In a statement to the L.A. Times, the company expressed some concern but was defensive, making a vague accusation about CR’s testing.

“We are extremely concerned about Consumer Reports’ allegation that one of our products exceeds the Prop. 65 standard and requires a warning label,” said Pepsi. “We believe their conclusion is factually incorrect and reflects a serious misunderstanding of Prop. 65’s requirements.”

Comparing Pepsi 4-MEI levels to its competitors, most of the other tested beverages were well below the 29 microgram threshold, regardless of location. For example, only around 4 micrograms of 4-MEI was found in Coke purchased on both coasts. Likewise, Coke Zero and Diet Coke turned up even lower levels and showed no real difference between samples from California or New York.

Tests on A&W Root Beer came in just below the 29 microgram level, but showed no difference in 4-MEI levels between California and New York samples.

If you really hunger for 4-MEI, Malta Goya showed through-the-roof levels of the chemical in all samples, regardless of location. The most recent tests found 316.1 micrograms of the chemical in California and 307.5 in New York.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Study: Texting While Walking Turns You Into A Robot, A Menace To Society And Yourself

(afagen)

Whenever I’m walking and texting I am fully aware of death glares shot my way by my fellow pedestrians. And I know why — they expect me to not pay attention and bumble right into them, so I try not to text for too long. But you could also be hurting yourself with this ambulatory multi-tasking, say Australian researchers in a new study.

Using movie special-effects technology to capture the movements we make while walking, the University of Queensland researchers say that texting and walking affects your balance and the ability to walk straight. Add in to all that and you can damage your posture while doing the text ‘n’ walk, reports the Wall Street Journal.

“I was checking emails while walking to work this morning,” confessed one of the study’s co-authors. “But it has a serious impact on the safety of people who type or read text while walking.”

Then there are the stories — some of which you’ve probably heard or something like it: A tourist walking off a pier while checking Facebook; not paying attention to your surroundings and walking into traffic. Maybe one time you were asking for tacos on the Internet and got mugged while flashing your phone around. Maybe.

Anyway, the study links the growth of mobile-phone usage to the number of phone-related accidents. The more people tippety tapping and swiping away, the more likely there will be those doing so on the move. Another study recently showed the the number of emergency-room visits connected to using phones while walking doubled to 1,500 between 2005 and 2010.

In the new study, researchers found that subjects walked slower and took shorter steps, especially when typing, and ended up moving around like robots, with locked arms and elbows, said researchers. They then moved their heads more to make up for that weird motion, making their balance not so great.

“In a pedestrian environment, inability to maintain a straight path would be likely to increase potential for collisions, trips and traffic accidents,” said the co-author. “The best thing to do is to step aside and stop, or keep off the phone.”

Some countries are trying to combat this zombie-like phenomenon of shuffling, unaware pedestrians. Hong Kong has subway signs warning passengers to pay attention, while in Singapore officials are blaming the rising number of road deaths on people distracted by their phones at street crossings. New York and Arkansas are among the U.S. states considering banning phone jaywalking.

Can’t Walk the Walk? Stop Texting! [Wall Street Journal]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Is Target Shaving Workers’ Hours So It Doesn’t Have To Insure Them?

(Erik Gunther)

Earlier this week, Target announced that it would no longer offer health insurance to part-time employees (those who work fewer than 32 hours per week), while at the same time claiming that it would not be trimming employees’ schedules so that they no longer qualify as full-time workers. However, some Target employees tell Consumerist that company execs aren’t telling the truth.

In a Target blog post, Target’s Exec. VP for Human Resources Jodee Kozlak provided a vague denial to a question about whether employees’ hours would be trimmed because of this decision to no longer insure part-timers, but some Target insiders see things differently.

One employee, who has worked at the store for more than a decade, says that as 2013 came to an end, his store began revising its shifts in a way that cut many workers’ hours to fewer than 30 per week.

The employee says this is not just affecting sales floor staff but specialty teams — the price change team, planogram team, in-stock team — that had traditionally been full-time jobs (36-40 hours a week), but now qualify as part-time employment.

“Recently these teams have been having their hours cut below 30 and they have been supplementing them by having sales floor people help with their workloads during their normal shifts,” writes the Target vet.

He estimates that the recent changes have cut the number of insurance-eligible employees at his store by 80%. Additionally, he says that his store is now hiring primarily part-time workers, something it had never done after the holiday season.

When contacted by Consumerist about these claims from its employees, a rep for the retailer first sent a link to the Kozlak blog post — the very thing I had referenced in my query — and then provided the following statement:

Target is committed to staffing our stores to meet the needs of our guests and business. All of our hourly team members provide the hours they are available to work and Target builds schedules around their availability and the needs of the business. All team members looking for more hours are continually encouraged to consider opening their availability or cross-training in other areas to maximize their schedule availability. At any time, our team members can talk to their manager about their interest and availability to work more hours. In fact, during the holiday season we offered our year-round part time and full time team members the opportunity to take on additional hours or cross-train to work in other areas — at their request.

If you work for Target and want to share your insight into whether or not employees’ hours are being cut to below the 32-hour/week threshold, send us an e-mail at tips@consumerist.com with TARGET INSIDER in the subject line. We will never share your identity or which particular store you work at with the public or anyone at Target.

In other Target-related news, the company laid off 475 employees yesterday, most of them from its Minneapolis HQ. Additionally, it will not replace 700 currently vacant positions. This is the largest number of employees let go since the nadir of the great recession in 2009.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Truck Spills Massive Amount Of Beer On Same Ramp That Was Covered In Chicken A Week Ago

(WSBTV)

You may remember last week, when a truck overturned outside of Atlanta and spilled some 40,000 pounds of frozen chicken on the road. This morning, that same highway ramp was doused in beer after a very similar incident.

WSBTV reports that the incident occurred around 2 a.m. on the ramp connecting I-285 and I-20 in DeKalb County, GA.

The overturned truck spilled pallets of Bud Light all over the road, closing down the ramp for several hours. No one appears to have been hurt, though we imagine the unfortunate clean-up crew that had to sweep up all that busted beer will likely carry around that smell for the rest of the day.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, this is the exact same ramp that was the site of last week’s chicken spill.

At this rate, we’re predicting a third truck loaded with some sort of snack will overturn on this ramp, completing the party food trifecta. We’re not superstitious, but if we were hauling pallets of any of the following — frozen pizza, soda, mixed nuts, chips, or any sort of dip — we’d probably avoid this particular ramp for the time being.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Netflix Would Ask Consumers To Protest If ISPs Try Blocking Or Throttling Service

(Ben Lucier)

The upshot of last week’s federal appeals court ruling that tossed out the core of the FCC’s net neutrality rule is that Internet Service Providers can now impede access to competing or data-hogging websites by downgrading or blocking these content providers. Netflix, the country’s single largest devourer of bandwidth, had been relatively quiet on this ruling, until yesterday, when it shared its view of the future of net neutrality with investors.

In its quarterly earnings report [PDF], Netflix dedicates an entire section to the issue of net neutrality (see p. 6 of the report).

“In principle, a domestic ISP now can legally impede the video streams that members request from Netflix, degrading the experience we jointly provide. The motivation could be to get Netflix to pay fees to stop this degradation,” explains the company. “Were this draconian scenario to unfold with some ISP, we would vigorously protest and encourage our members to demand the open Internet they are paying their ISP to deliver.”

That said, the company believes that this potential for consumer blowback and how it would likely “galvanize government action” to reinstate net neutrality, is enough for ISPs to “avoid this consumer-unfriendly path of discrimination.”

Interestingly enough, Netflix does specifically call on legislators or the FCC to right the errors of those who originally crafted net neutrality but failed to see the obvious ways in which it would fail a legal challenge.

“In the long-term, we think Netflix and consumers are best served by strong network neutrality across all networks, including wireless,” explains the company. “To the degree that ISPs adhere to a meaningful voluntary code of conduct, less regulation is warranted.”

Netflix does end this section of the report with a caveat that it’s not ruling out the possibility that government intervention might be required: “To the degree that some aggressive ISPs start impeding specific data flows, more regulation would clearly be needed.”

[via The Verge]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist