9IN BRIEF
VODAFONE DOUBLES ITS
PAYG DATA
Vodafone
has doubled
the data
that phone
customers
can use on
some of its pay-as-you-go
‘Big Value Bundles’. For
£15 you now get 20GB; for
£20 your limit is 40GB; and
for £30 you get 100GB.
However, on the cheapest
package (£10) data increases
by only 2GB, to 7GB. See
http://www.snipca.com/
for details.DELL ADDS TILE
TRACKER TO STYLUS
Dell has released the first
touchscreen stylus with a
Tile tracker built in, making
it easier to find. If you
ever lose it, you can track
it down using the Tile
app on your phone or
tablet. Tap ‘Find’ in the
app and your stylus
will begin buzzing and
blinking its lights. The
Premier Rechargeable
Active Pen (pictured)
is available for £93.73 from
Dell’s store: http://www.snipca.
com/41539.AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
STAYS ON ROKU
The Amazon Prime Video
app will stay on Roku
streaming devices after the
two companies agreed a
“multi-year extension”. It
also means the Amazon-
owned IMDb.tv will remain
on Roku. Last December,
Roku signed a similar deal
with Google to keep its
YouTube app on its devices.S
treaming service Plex
now lets you search for
content to watch across
multiple apps, including
Amazon Prime Video, Disney
Plus and Netflix, as part of a
huge update. Plex says it
means you’ll no longer waste
“countless time juggling all of
our different subscriptions
and free services”.
It also searches for shows
and films within Plex’s own
collection, and content
saved in your personal media
libraries.
To use the new search tool,
called Discover, open Plex on
your phone, laptop, tablet or
TV and type the name of a
series or film. You can searchby actor and director too.
On its blog (www.snipca.
com/41549), Plex uses the
example of searching for
the 2006 film Little Miss
Sunshine, and shows where
it’s available at the bottom
of the screen (pictured).
Plex’s search also covers
unreleased films, letting
you watch trailers.Plex has also added a new
Universal Watchlist, letting you
create a playlist of programmes
and films you want to watch
across all your services.
Both new tools are free, so
you don’t need to buy a Plex
Pass to use them. They’re also
both beta releases, so Plex is
seeking feedback on its forum:
http://www.snipca.com/41551.Plex now lets you find shows across all
TV services
Authors tell Amazon to end
14-day ebook refunds
W
riters have called on
Amazon to change its
policy that allows customers
to read a Kindle ebook and
then claim a refund for it
within 14 days (see screenshot).
A petition has been
launched on Change.org
(www.snipca.com/41542)
urging Amazon to “protect
authors from theft”. It reads:
“Returning a book after
reading 10-20% is one thing.
But when the book has been
read in it’s entirety it should
not be allowed to be returned.
End of discussion.”
Within days of going live it
had been signed by more than
37,000 people.
Authors say readers returning
ebooks for a refund is a growing
problem, driven by instructions
being shared on the video app
TikTok, which is popular with
young readers. Videos about
returning ebooks for a refund
have been watched more thanLeading writers have
backed the petition. Jeanette
Winterson, author of Oranges
Are Not the Only Fruit, said:
“It’s difficult to know how
writers are supposed to live;
perhaps we are meant to
double up as Amazon delivery
drivers?”
Ian Rankin, author of the
Inspector Rebus novels, said:
“I am appalled. Writers have a
tough enough time as it is
trying to make a living. If
someone can read your book
without paying you anything
for the privilege, you’re sunk.”17 million times.
One author claimed that
more than 100 copies of their
ebooks were returned in
March, compared with fewer
than 10 in January and
February combined. Every
time an ebook is returned the
author is deprived of royalties.
The Society of Authors
(SoA), the writers’ union, says
Amazon should cut the period
for returning ebooks to 48
hours, and that royalties
should be deducted only
when customers accidentally
buy an ebook.Issue 630 • 27 April – 10 May 2022