INBOXIFY ORIGINAL's [08/September/2023]

"Welcome, Valued Subscribers, to Our Friday Newsletter Delight! Get ready to embark on a weekly journey with us, as we curate the most intriguing news stories, fascinating insights, and noteworthy updates to keep you informed and inspired. Thank you for joining our community, and let's dive into the exciting world of news together!"

AUTO

Your car knows what you did last summer

Francis Scialabba

Your sedan is probably eavesdropping. Cars were found to have the worst privacy policies of any product category analyzed by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation—even worse than your Google Nest or Apple Watch, a report released by the foundation yesterday said.

Unless your ’67 Chevy is still truckin’, you’re probably at risk. Mozilla found that the 25 vehicle brands analyzed, including Audi, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford, failed to hit basic privacy standards.

That means your car and the services you use in it, like GPS or satellite radio, can collect data such as your contact info, race, or immigration status, and any other personal inferences the systems can make about you based on where you go.

• Nissan admitted that their vehicles collect data on drivers’ sex lives, but didn’t explain what data or how they get it.

• Tesla was the worst-ranked car brand in terms of privacy. (Remember the totaled one that was shipped to Ukraine but remained connected to CNBC Executive Editor Jay Yarow’s Spotify account?)

The fine print: Most major automakers’ privacy policies have no opt-out choice and don’t offer encryption for your data. No US brands have a way to totally delete your info, and 19 car companies even specify that they can sell your data to brokers, marketers, or dealerships. See what yours does here.

MEDIA

Disney, Charter, and the fight over the future of TV

Francis Scialabba

If you’re frustrated that you couldn’t watch Duke football upset Clemson this weekend, just imagine how Daniil Medvedev feels: The US Open participant can’t watch any of the US Open.

Following a contract disagreement between Charter Communications and Disney, all Disney-owned TV channels went dark on Charter’s Spectrum cable service just before Labor Day weekend, resulting in a tennis-less and football-less long weekend for Charter’s 15 million cable subscribers. That includes Medvedev, who complained he hasn’t been able to scope out rivals in his New York hotel room.

Now, two of the biggest forces behind America’s binge-watching addiction are at an impasse over how streaming and TV can coexist.

• Charter wants to include Disney’s streaming services (Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu) for free in its cable packages. Disney refused.

• Disney asked for higher licensing fees, but Charter won’t agree to that unless it gets concessions, like an option to remove sports channels from more packages.

The future of TV hangs in the balance

While channel blackouts have happened in the past, this dispute isn’t a matter of calling up Chris Voss. On a call with investors, Charter CEO Christopher Winfrey said, “We’re on the edge of a precipice. We’re either moving forward with a new collaborative video model, or we’re moving on.” As the US’ second-largest cable company, Charter’s threat to abandon the traditional linear TV model is far from empty.

• One analyst commented that “the media and distribution landscape has been building up to this moment for many years.”

• Disney has been preparing for this, too. Disney CEO Bob Iger has spoken publicly about potentially selling its cable assets (ABC, FX) and taking ESPN direct-to-consumer. It also used the channel blackout as an opportunity to push Hulu+ Live TV.

What happens next? This can really only go one of two ways: Either Charter and Disney come to an agreement, which will force other streaming companies to link up with cable providers, or Charter exits the industry, likely spelling the end of linear TV, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While Spectrum users were fuming about missing the return of college football this weekend, Iger and Winfrey were reportedly in contact and attempting to reach a deal.

Jets fans will hope they shake hands before Aaron Rodgers makes his team debut on Monday night.

GAMING

New game confirms: Space is big

Bethesda

Starfield, the long-awaited action role-playing game, is launching on Xbox, Windows, and Steam today. Produced by the iconic Elder Scrolls and Fallout creator Bethesda Game Studios, it’s billed as a buffet of cosmic experiences.

• Starfield lets players explore over 1,000 real and fictional planets in what NPR calls “one of the biggest stories ever told.”

• They can complete quests, build outposts, or simply frolic around the universe fighting or hobnobbing with extraterrestrials using 3 million dialogue words.

The gaming industry is eagerly awaiting the reception of Bethesda’s first original release in 25 years. Starfield has such blockbuster potential that Microsoft bought Bethesda for $7.5 billion two years ago to ensure the celestial cacophony was available on its Xbox consoles.

It’s a test flight for Bethesda and Microsoft. With Starfield, Bethesda aims to nail the technical challenge of designing an expansive virtual world that’s realistic, engaging, and not glitchy. Microsoft, meanwhile, is banking on it becoming a megahit to justify its strategy of hoovering up game studios to compete with console rivals Sony and Nintendo. The tech giant is currently convincing regulators to greenlight its $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard.

ENVIRONMENT

Invasive species cost the global economy a fortune

A Bug’s Life/Walt Disney Studios via Giphy

Like a flower growing in a sidewalk crack, nature thriving where it shouldn’t is sometimes inspiring <3. Other times, not so much: A United Nations-backed report says 3,500+ invasive plants and animals cost the world at least $423 billion in damages annually.

That’s more than the economic toll of natural disasters last year. And almost no region is safe: Grass seeds have made their way to Antarctica, so rising temperatures could turn parts of its icy tundra into fields of green. Nonnative grasses also fueled the spread of Maui’s fires last month. Around the world, giant snails, bee-killing hornets, spotted lanternflies, and other invaders can threaten local ecosystems, human health, farming, and fishing.

More key findings:

• Economic damages from invasive pests have quadrupled every decade since 1970, partly because 200 more species become invasive each year via ships and planes.

• Right now, the most widespread invasive species is water hyacinth, which overtakes lakes and rivers, blocking boats and sucking up water.

• Invasive species have played a major role in 60% of recorded plant and animal extinctions.

What can we do? Scientists say border control is the best way to combat the worldwide invasion of the biodiversity snatchers. Strategically releasing a pest’s predator also sometimes works.

AROUND THE WEB

• Mercedes debuted new concept cars, showing off its eclectic ambitions by planning vehicles with greater range than Teslas. BMW also unveiled a new electric concept car.

• China’s President Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 summit in India this weekend, so he won’t chat with US President Biden there. Premier Li Qiang will represent China instead.

• Elon Musk threatened (via tweet) to sue the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit that fights antisemitism, after blaming it for advertisers not returning to Twitter.

• First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday, but her husband (the president) tested negative.

• Parrotheads have been celebrating the life of “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett, who died on Friday at age 76 from a rare form of skin cancer. And in another loss for music lovers, Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell died yesterday at age 56

✅ Design analysis: Why Reddit can’t get anyone to download its app.

✅ Sustainability tip: Recycling and other myths about tackling climate change.

✅ Sustainability tip: Recycling and other myths about tackling climate change.

✅ Watch: Nebraskans aren’t just crazy about volleyball—they also let bulls ride shotgun on the interstate.