Killing Wickr … Quickly and Without Love
January 27, 2023
Encrypted messaging services are popular for privacy-concerned users as well as freedom fighters in authoritarian countries. Tech companies consider these messaging services to be a wise investment, so Amazon purchased Wickr in 2020. Wickr is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app and it was made available for AWS users. Gizmodo explains that Wickr will soon be nonexistent in the article, “Amazon Plans To Close Up Wickr’s User-Centric Encrypted Messaging App.”
Amazon no longer wants to be part of the encrypted messaging services, because it got too saturated like the ugly Christmas sweater market. Amazon is killing the Wickr Me app, limiting use to business and public sectors through AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise. New registrations end on December 31 and the app will be obsolete by the end of 2023.
Wickr was worth $60 million went Amazon purchased it. Amazon, however, lost $1 trillion in stock vaguer in November 2022, becoming the first company in history to claim that “honor.” Amazon is laying off employees and working through company buyouts. Changing Wickr’s target market could recoup some of the losses:
“But AWS apparently wants Wickr to focus on its business and government customers much more than its regular users. Among those public entities using Wickr is U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That contract was reportedly worth around $900,000 when first reported in September last year. Sure, the CBP wants encrypted communications, but Wickr can delete all messages sent via the app, which is an increasingly dangerous proposition for open government advocates.”
Wickr, like other encryption services, does not have a clean record. It has been used for illegal drug sales and other illicit items via the Dark Web.
Whitney Grace, January 27, 2022
Killing Wickr
January 26, 2023
Encrypted messaging services are popular for privacy-concerned users as well as freedom fighters in authoritarian countries. Tech companies consider these messaging services to be a wise investment, so Amazon purchased Wickr in 2020. Wickr is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app and it was made available for AWS users. Gizmodo explains that Wickr will soon be nonexistent in the article, “Amazon Plans To Close Up Wickr’s User-Centric Encrypted Messaging App.”
Amazon no longer wants to be part of the encrypted messaging services, because it got too saturated like the ugly Christmas sweater market. Amazon is killing the Wickr Me app, limiting use to business and public sectors through AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise. New registrations end on December 31 and the app will be obsolete by the end of 2023.
Wickr was worth $60 million went Amazon purchased it. Amazon, however, lost $1 trillion in stock vaguer in November 2022, becoming the first company in history to claim that “honor.” Amazon is laying off employees and working through company buyouts. Changing Wickr’s target market could recoup some of the losses:
“But AWS apparently wants Wickr to focus on its business and government customers much more than its regular users. Among those public entities using Wickr is U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That contract was reportedly worth around $900,000 when first reported in September last year. Sure, the CBP wants encrypted communications, but Wickr can delete all messages sent via the app, which is an increasingly dangerous proposition for open government advocates.”
Wickr, like other encryption services, does not have a clean record. It has been used for illegal drug sales and other illicit items via the Dark Web. At one time, Wickr might have been a source of useful metadata. Not now. Odd.
Whitney Grace, January 26, 2023
Amazon: Filled with Holiday Cheer
December 27, 2022
In the modern world, Amazon is a catch-22; you can live without it but you would be hard-pressed not to. While buying a product on Amazon is usually simple, the return process is worse than a pain in the neck. A Canadian family has learned the hard way that Amazon will pull a scam whenever possible. CBC explains the frustrations in, “Family Says Amazon Shipped Fake Product, Refuses Refund Until ‘Correct Item’ Returned.”
Matthew Legault’s parents purchased him a computer as a high school graduation gift. He was excited about the present, until he took it apart and noticed the graphics card was hollowed out and filled with putty. The Legaults returned the defective computer and asked for a refund. Amazon, however, said they threw out the “computer” because it was a danger to employees. Amazon also demanded the Legaults need to ship the correct item.
Do you see where the cyclical problem is going?
The Legaults are like many unhappy Amazon customers, who are told that an item was disposed of to “end the conversation.”
What is hysterical is that Legault patriarch thinks Amazon cares about him:
“François says his history with Amazon should have stood for something — he’s been a loyal customer for years, and rarely returned anything. ‘The box had obviously been tampered with,’ he said. ‘We kind of expected that Amazon would have better quality controls, better procedures to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen.’”
HAHA!
NOPE!
Amazon is not a brick and mortar store. Amazon does not inspect anything and simply boxes returns up to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Amazon has lost revenue since the end of the COVID pandemic. The company is laying off employees.
A word of advice from the victims: take a video of yourself opening the package, so Amazon will not have any fodder against you.
The Legaults eventually got their refund when the story aired. It also helps to threaten legal action.
Is it possible that the post Bezos Amazon does not care about anyone or anything? Some more advice: order expensive products from the manufacturer’s Web site or in a physical store. Just a thought.
Whitney Grace, December 27, 2022
Microsoft and the London Stock Exchange: Lock In Maybe?
December 12, 2022
I believe everything I read on the Internet. That’s one way I keep in touch with my inner GenZ self. Sometimes, however, stories ring true; for example, “Microsoft buys Near 4% Stake in London Stock Exchange As Part of 10 Year Cloud Deal.” I read the title via my dinobaby translation system and understood, “Yep, lock in, kiddo. Oh, Amazon AWS and Google Cloud professionals. Do not bother to call us. We will call you, okay.”
You may disagree with my dinobaby translator. That’s okay. I let many flowers bloom, unlike the London Stock Exchange which goes at life in what appear to be 10 year contracts. That’s a long time in techno-cloud land in my opinion.
The write up says:
Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice president for the Cloud and AI Group, will be appointed as a non-executive director of LSEG.
I wonder if he will demo Microsoft Teams egames features and the security systems for Microsoft Exchange Server? Will he offer helpful inputs to those who might want to give an off the shelf AWS Sagemaker system a spin? What about the ever reliable Google VPN service which is super reliable and in demand right now?
The answer to these questions strike me as obvious. Azure is better, faster, cheaper, more reliable, and easier. I wonder if these benefits entered into the negotiation. (Personally I like the security angle and the cheaper plus.) My instinct has a tiny voice too. It is whispering to me, “Microsoft will deliver premier service to the London Stock Exchange when (which is unlikely) the system Azure system hiccups.
I noted this passage too:
Microsoft and LSEG will also work together in developing new professional collaboration tools. LSEG has developed a product called Workspace, a data and analytics platform. The two companies will be working on advancing this product and integrating it with Microsoft Teams, the firm’s messaging app.
I am tempted to reference the source of the stake, but I won’t. The parties involved make content marketing hay around the “trust” word.
I have a couple of observations:
- Microsoft has added a neon underline to the old marketing concept of “lock in.”
- The Redmond security giant can point to a big time financial customer and market its secure cloud solutions. Well, they are secure… at this time.
- The Amazon and Google cloud professionals will definitely find a way to respond.
Net net: Isn’t it wonderful that big tech innovation involves owning financial plumbing and access?
Stephen E Arnold, December 12, 2022
Amazon Innovation: Me Too, Me Too
December 12, 2022
I read “Amazon Comes for TikTok with Its Own In App Shopping Feed.” The main idea is that me too appears to be a driver of technological and product innovation at the world’s mom and pop online store. The write up states:
The online retail giant has announced Inspire(opens in new tab), a new short-form video experience that allows consumers to explore and buy products through a shoppable feed…
But wait there’s more to the crack Amazon technologists’ pioneering breakthroughs:
Amazon’s Inspire adds photos to the mix, giving users more ways to discover products they may like from various content creators, brands, and even other customers.
What I found interesting is that Amazon has discovered that a mobile first strategy makes sense. What an astounding market insight! Who knew other than Google, app developers, large telcos, and outfits making mobile phones. Other than those few segments, the mobile revolution has gone unnoticed until now.
The write up points out that Amazon may tap influencers to pitch its new, breath taking service. My thought is that stressed out Twitch content creators could be induced to pitch the Amazon’s Eureka moment with more money from the mom and pop online retailer.
My reaction to this shotgun hook up of TikTok and the Zucker’s Instagram is that Amazon has achieved quantum mobile supremacy. Oh, wait. That supremacy claim is one that Google likes to use.
Amazon will come up with some brilliant Mad Ave lingo. I am thinking “next day delivery” or “customer service.” Oh, wait…
Stephen E Arnold, December 12, 2022
Collusion? What Do You Mean Collusion?
November 30, 2022
Ah what wise and ethical firms we have at the top of the tech food chain. MacRumors reports, “Amazon and Apple ‘Colluded’ to Make iPhone and iPad More Expensive, Says Antitrust Lawsuit.” The complaint alleges the companies conspired to kick third-party vendors of Apple products from Amazon’s marketplace in order to escalate prices and keep them aloft. Did they think no one would notice? We learn:
“There were around 600 third-party sellers of Apple devices on Amazon Marketplace, which was whittled down to just seven. Amazon began eliminating third-party sellers after it signed a 2019 deal with Apple to limit the number of resellers on Amazon marketplace to 20 per country. In exchange, Apple provided Amazon with a discounted wholesale price for iPhones and iPads. By restricting third-party sellers from offering Apple products, Amazon made itself the dominant seller of Apple products on Amazon Marketplace, which Amazon and Apple both ‘stood to benefit from’ even though it ‘would harm the public.’ The lawsuit claims that prior to the agreement, third-party resellers were offering ‘prices steeply discounted’ from those Apple wanted to have for its online storefront, which resulted in lower prices for consumers.”
That does look bad. But wait, there is an important caveat:
“There is no word on specific devices that went up in price due to the agreement, and no explanation of whether sellers were offering older devices or current products, nor if these were refurbished devices.”
Those would be key distinctions. The write-up does not mention (though commenters have) that purveyors of stolen and counterfeit goods are known to operate through Amazon. Were any of them among the approximately 590 sellers axed? We may never know.
The suit requests an injunction forcing Amazon to allow third-party Apple sellers back on and to reimburse customers who it claims overpaid by as much as 20%. We are curious to see how this lawsuit plays out.
Cynthia Murrell, November 30, 2022
Amazon: The Bezos Bulldozer Shoves Customers and Crushes Competitors
November 11, 2022
The myth of the enlightened technology company led by an ethical, socially-minded leadership team seems to be dissipating like fog in a Kentucky hollow on a spring morning. Whether it was the craziness of blue and gray checks on Twitter or the public confessions of the Zuck, there is mounting evidence that knowledge of programming does not translate into effective management. In our nifty money centric country, money means brilliance, leadership skills, wisdom, and a quantum link to JP Morgan, Jay Gould, Andrew Carnegie, et al.
I want to shift from the public chaos to an interesting article from a Silicon Valley type of “real” news outfit. The article which caught my attention is “Basically Everything on Amazon Has Become an Ad.” The write up reveals that Amazon is not an old-fashioned Sears catalog. Nope, Amazon is a more expensive variant of eBay. I noted:
Amazon has designs to boost its ad business to new heights by selling more video commercials on Amazon properties like the video game livestreaming service Twitch and during live sporting events streamed on Prime Video; and by offering audio ads on Amazon Music. The company has also invested heavily in in-house software tools that allow brands to purchase highly targeted ads around the web.
The write up then misses what I think is the main thrust of the Bezos bulldozer. The article states:
Amazon has become a power player in yet another industry, adding advertising to a list that already includes e-commerce, logistics, entertainment, cloud computing, and voice assistants.
Sort of like other close-enough-for-horseshoes’ analysis.
The direction at Amazon is institutionalizing dark patterns. Users/customers think one thing, and the company is moving them like cattle in a Chicago stock yard to the meat packing plant.
Advertising is manipulative communication. Consider these methods at Amazon:
- Complex pricing mechanisms within AWS
- Lack of transparency about the data flowing into its commercial database business
- Functionality provided to certain government agencies within the Amazon Government regions and clouds
- Functionality within “free” music designed to create a need for a more expensive version of the service so users can create playlists.
There are other dark patterns as well. (I won’t mention the security mechanism for certain AWS cloud services which are extra cost options, not the default.)
Net net: More attention may be warranted by regulatory entities in the US and other countries. The Bezos bulldozer is reshaping landscapes, and everyone thinks that these “developments” are good for everyone. How many rabbits and squirrels are crushed by the Bezos bulldozers each day? Give up. The answer is a lot. Who wants to give up the one-click service, the subscription to common products, and the mythical one-day delivery?
Stephen E Arnold, November 11, 2022
Amazon: An Ecosystem in Which Some Bad Actors Thrive
October 6, 2022
Wow! Who knew? I must admit that I have developed what I call a “Hypothetical Ecommerce Crime Ecosystem.” Because I am an old, dinobaby, I have not shared my musings in this semi entertaining Web log. I do relatively few “public” talks. I am careful not to be “volunteered” for a local networking meet up like those organized by the somewhat ineffectual “chamber of commerce” in central Kentucky. Plus, I am never sure if those with whom I speak are “into” ecosystems of crime. Sure, last week I gave a couple of boring lectures to a few law enforcement, crime analysts, and government senior officials. But did the light bulbs flashing during and after my talk impair my vision. Nah.
I did read a write up which nibbles around the edges of my diagram for my hypothetical crime ecosystem. “There’s an Underground Market Where Secondhand Amazon Merchant Accounts Are Bought and Sold for Thousands of Dollars” asserts as 100 percent actual factual:
An Insider investigation revealed a thriving gray market for secondhand Amazon seller accounts. On Telegram and forums like Swapd and PlayerUp, thousands of brokers openly sell accounts, with prices ranging from a few hundred bucks for a new account to thousands of dollars apiece for years-old accounts with established histories. … The accounts sometimes steal random people’s identities to disguise themselves, and sellers are using these fake credentials to engage in questionable behavior on Amazon, Insider found — including selling counterfeit textbooks. The people’s whose names and addresses are being stolen are sometimes then sent hundreds of returns by unhappy customers.
Is there other possibly inappropriate activity on the Amazon giant bookstore? The write up says:
Merchants have used shady tactics like submitting false fraud reports targeting rivals, or bribing Amazon employees to scuttle competitors. Others peddle counterfeit or shoddily produced wares. Amazon bans fraudulent sellers, along with other accounts they’re suspected of owning, and blacklists their business name, physical location, and IP address.
Okay, but why?
My immediate reaction is money. May I offer a few speculations about such ecosystem centric behavior? You say, No. Too bad. Here are my opinions:
- Amazon does basic cost benefit analyses. The benefit is the amount of money Amazon gets to keep. The cost is the sum of the time, effort, and direct outflow of cash required to monitor and terminate what might be called the Silicon Valley way. (Yeah, I know Amazon like Microsoft is in some state in the US Northwest, but the spirit of the dudes and dudettes in Silicon Valley knows no geographic boundaries. Did you notice the “con” in “silicon.” Coincidence?
- Bad actors know a thriving ecosystem when they see one. Buy stolen products from a trusted third party, and who worries to much about where the person in the white van obtained them. Pay the driver, box ‘em up, and ship out those razors and other goods easily stolen from assorted brick-and-mortar stores in certain US locations; for example, the Walgreen’s in Tony Bennett’s favorite city.
- The foil of third party intermediaries makes it easy for everyone in the ecosystem to say, “Senator, thank you for the question. I do not know the details of our firm’s business relationship. I will obtain the information and send a report to your office.” When? Well, maybe struggling FedEx or the Senate’s internal mail system lost the report. Bummer. Just request another copy, rinse, and repeat. The method has worked for a couple of decades. Don’t fix it if the system is not broken.
What’s interesting about my “Hypothetical Ecommerce Crime Ecosystem” in my opinion is:
- Plausible deniability is baked in
- Those profiting from exploitation of the Amazon money rain forest have zero incentive or downside to leave the system as it is. Change costs money and — let’s face it — there have been zero significant downsides to the status quo for decades. Yep, decades.
- Enforcement resources are stretched at this time. Thus, what I call “soft fraud” is easier than ever to set up and embed in business processes.
Is the cited article correct? Sure, I believe everything I read online, including Amazon reviews of wireless headphones and cheap T shirts.
Is my analysis correct? I don’t know. I am probably wrong and I am too old, too worn out, too jaded to do much more than ask, “Is that product someone purchased on Amazon an original, unfenced item?”
Stephen E Arnold, October 6, 2022
Amazon: Two Day Delivery? Well, Sort Of?
October 5, 2022
Amazon Prime subscribers love the two-day shipping. When their item does not arrive within time, they get upset because they paid good morning for a service! Removing the Karen spirit from the last sentence, it is understandable that there will be occasional holdups with delivery. If delays continue, then there is something wrong with the pipeline. Vox digs into what is happening with Amazon’s delivery system in: “Some Amazon Prime Customers Say They Don’t Have Two Day Shipping Anymore.”
Former corporate Amazon employee Peter Freese noticed that Amazon delivery times were taking longer than expected in his hometown Omak, Washington. After he read complaints similar to his own online, Freese decided to experiment. He had Amazon packages sent to random residential addresses in all thirty-nine Washington counties. All the orders were branded with Amazon Prime, but lacked the “two-day” or “next-day” shipping option.
Lauren Samaha, an Amazon spokesperson, stated there were no problems with Amazon’s delivery times, but they fluctuate based on mitigating factors. She affirmed the company was not cutting costs nor denying two-day delivery to addresses within the continental US.
Freese, however, discovered that was not true:
“Freese’s analysis goes beyond those semantics, though: What he’s found is that some customers who once had Prime two-day shipping no longer do, even on commonly purchased items. Yet they’re still paying the full Prime membership fees like everyone else.”
Amazon’s warehouse employees work under a tight surveillance ship that keeps going 24/7. According to many former and present workers, the working conditions are exploitative, harmful, and can result in injury. Amazon admitted that they underestimated how many employees they needed to staff their warehouses during the pandemic. Delivery delays also point out that Amazon is not infallible and it is beginning to show cracks.
It would be nice if Amazon admitted its weaknesses, then focused on improving employees’ working conditions. Happy workers means higher productivity.
Whitney Grace, October 5, 2022
Amazon Strategy: Just Prime the Pump with Low Grade Fuel
September 30, 2022
Have you pulled into a filling station in rural Missouri, filled your tank, and driven into the beauty of the state? Enjoyable, right. At least it was fun until the motor died because the fuel you purchased won’t run in your whale killing, dolphin destroying vehicle with a giant V8 and oversized wheels.
Bummer.
I think that’s how some Amazon employees feel after reading an email explaining that Amazons payroll department is not very good at math. You know. The hard math of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Strike that: Amazon has subtraction and division (maybe divisiveness) under control.
“Oops, Amazon Emails Staff with News It Miscalculated Their Compensation” reports what may be “real news”:
A one-time bonus that was part of their compensation package had been miscalculated due to a software error and would be lower than what they had been told … The bonuses had initially been calculated using older, higher stock prices and about 40% of promoted employees this quarter were affected by the error.
No biggie. Just 40 percent of the Amazon happy tribe of Bezos bulldozer drivers.
The lower pay tier workers at the joyful Amazon money factory heard some bad news earlier, according to the write up:
Earlier this month, CEO Andy Jassy said that a $25 minimum wage is unlikely.
Interesting. Perhaps this ineptitude explains why Amazon has been less than revealing in some of its financial reports. The term for this is either inepticity, duplicity, or innumeracy, but that’s just my personal opinion.
What happened to my next day delivery?
Stephen E Arnold, September 30, 2022
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