In the wake of secret data deals with smartphone makers, and a bug that turned private posts public for millions of users, Facebook is once again under fire: this time for the way it gave certain companies extended access to its network of information on users, through 2014 and beyond.
The claims reported in The Wall Street Journal suggest Facebook kept a whitelist of partners who could access detailed data – even after the point when the social network said it had shut out this sort of access to developers.
We already knew that detailed user data of this type escaped Facebook’s clutches beyond 2014, when the platform first began to lock down what apps could do with the data they were getting. Now it seems Facebook knowingly gave certain advertising partners permission to carry on as before.
Facebook ‘fesses up
Facebook has admitted the WSJ largely got its facts right, but insists that these extensions – given to the likes of Nissan and the Royal Bank of Canada – were intended to help companies adapt to the new privacy regulations. These extensions were short-term and have long since been terminated, Facebook says.
In addition, according to Facebook, any deal extensions signed after that time were kept under the new restrictions – only friends lists could be shared with app developers, not private information such as user interests or personal photos.
To cut a long story short, it seems Facebook gave a small number of companies more leeway than we previously thought when it came to adopting the new privacy regulations introduced in 2014 and 2015. Even if that access has now been shut off, these aren’t the kind of headlines Facebook will want to keep seeing.
Acer’s growth in the gaming market is hard to ignore. The manufacturer has been hard at work with its Predator lineup of gaming laptops and PCs, and shows no sign of slowing down. With a slew of new laptops, desktops, and even gaming accessories on the horizon, there’s plenty to look forward to in the coming months.
EMEA President Emmanuel Fromont echoes this desire for rapid growth, and spoke to us about the company’s future plans for VR and AI, as well as how the Middle East gaming market is evolving.
How has the Predator lineup shifted the company’s focus into gaming?
Gaming is a huge new focus for us, and it’s always exciting to see the progress in gaming. We’re continuing to push new things, but at the same time the results speak for themselves both in terms of sales and market share. It’s also exciting for our partners, whether it’s Intel or Nvidia or AMD, because they also want to put their latest and greatest into gaming.
I think it’s a space that three or four years ago no one was expecting Acer to step into, so we’ve really spent time within gaming and to build our Predator brand into a powerhouse brand. We’re also going to start moving into gaming accessories, and really create a Predator ecosystem with products, e-sports events, and similar things.
A lot of our marketing spend now goes into the Predator brand, because we see it having a positive effect on the Acer brand as a whole. People have really warmed up to us because of it, and it’s a segment that we can announce continued growth year on year.
Emmanuel Fromont, President, Acer EMEA
Do you think that the Middle East gaming market is somewhat ignored when it comes to hosting e-sports, game servers, and generally making an impression on the worldwide gaming scene?
The truth is that gaming is an aligned phenomenon – no matter where in the world gaming events are being held, you’ll always have an international audience tuned in to see everything unfold. I think you’re right when it comes to physical events, that Middle East isn’t very high on the map.
It all starts with the right partnerships, especially for events, to bring sponsors and people together. By contrast, look at the VR Park in Dubai – it’s the world’s largest VR park with the most advanced StarVR technology. So it’s just a matter of time before say a local ISP or vendor decides to team up and organize something.
How has VR been integrating into Acer’s portfolio?
Our first big step has been listing StarVR as an independent company. If it just stays as a small part of our business it’s not going to grow as much as we’d like it to, so it’s important we get this done first. We’ve also been working on headsets that we announced last year with Microsoft, and it took a while for the market to warm up to them. These headsets are more consumer-driven, but we’re still waiting to see how long it takes for VR to become more attractive to people.
How has your relationships with Intel and AMD changed thanks to the Predator brand?
I think the relationship was always strong to begin with, but it’s certainly evolved over the past few years. We were always seen as a volume seller, but once we made the shift to something more innovative, there was a bit of skepticism. Now things are very different – we’re fast when it comes to decision making for the latest components and features, and people recognize the progress of our brand and our focus.
We know some of your laptops will bundle with Alexa, but are there plans to expand outside of that into a range of smart devices?
We’re always looking at new opportunities – our R&D lab is always on top of things. But it comes down to the ability to truly build an ecosystem, so our feeling is that the end-user will decide what products they want to interact with. IoT is a bit different – if you look at AI, Acer isn’t going to be looking at self-driving cars or competing with Alexa. We’re more comfortable with niche opportunities where we can really apply AI to come up with more unique solutions.
One example is with digital displays, where we’re looking at more intelligent ways to track content being delivered. How many people have passed by? How many have looked at the screen? These are just examples of where AI will take charge of things. We’re not going to have servers sitting back and trying to crack data for us – this isn’t us. But where we can apply AI to certain solutions, we will continue to do so.
Chromebooks are a strong arm of your product portfolio with CEO Jason Chen revealing that you’ve got over ten million sold – what’s changing or improving in this space for Acer?
It’s difficult to predict just yet, but Chromebooks initially were valued because of their price points. When netbooks came and went, that space in the market was left to be filled, so we decided to do an 11-inch basic device that could fill that gap. But over time it evolved into a full-blown product line, with powerful processors and aluminum design that really makes it stand out.
We have all sorts of designs now as well that cater to different needs, and there’s still so many other places that are left to conquer. We’re strong in the US and in the UK, but there are other countries that we’ve barely scratched the surface. I think we’re going to continue seeing growth in the education sector for sure, and this will start pulling in other sectors as well.
You mentioned the Predator X with Intel Xeon processors, which is a first for any consumer-level PC. What prompted Acer to do this?
It’s all about pushing boundaries. We see more and more people buying the top of the line PCs not just to play games but also to do image and video editing, and other heavy duty tasks. So we know there are people out there who need power not just for gaming, but also for other tasks like perhaps VR design. It’s certainly a niche within gaming, but again it’s all about pushing boundaries and showing that we can be innovative with our products.
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem. The best tennis player ever to walk on to a clay court against the Austrian wunderkind. 10-time French Open champion taking on a man in his first ever Grand Slam final. Whether you think the writing is on the wall or are hoping for a David and Goliath style toppling, we’ve got all the information you need to live stream today’s men’s French Open final 2018 – and absolutely free of charge.
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem – where and when
The French Open men’s final takes place at the Stade Roland Garros in France, on the main Court Philippe Chatrier show court.
It will be taking place on Sunday June 10 at 3pm local time. So that means 2pm BST in the UK, 9am ET, 6am PT or 5am Sunday morning in Australia.
As sure as Tyson Fury battering Sefer Seferi and Justify cruising the Belmont Stakes, Rafael Nadal reaching the French Open final is about as close to a sporting certainty as you can get these days. Other than that quarter-final first set wobble against Diego Schwartzman, Nadal’s record at the 2018 French Open has been unblemished.
But then Dominic Thiem hasn’t exactly struggled to get to the Roland Garros final either. He’s only dropped a couple of sets throughout, and against some decent competition, too – he’s beaten Kei Nishikori and highly fancied Alexander Zverev along the way. He’ll be feeling good coming into the final – until he sees that irrepressible force across the net.
The French Open is always one of the tennis highlights of the year. Luckily for you, we’ve put together this handy guide so that you can watch it from anywhere in the world with a free live stream.
How to live stream French Open final tennis in the UK for free:
The UK’s free-to-air ITV station has the rights to UK coverage this year, meaning that you’ll be able to catch the final on the main ITV channel at 2pm BST if you’re near a TV, on the ITV website if that’s more convenient, or on the ITV Hub app if you’re away from home.
Coverage will also be available on British Eurosport – and if you’re a Virgin TV customer, you’ll be able to see the clay action in Ultra HD 4K for the first time. It’s worth noting that Eurosport is a service you’ll have to have a subscription for.
The alternative is to watch the game on TVPlayer.com, which let’s you channel hop at your convenience. If you can’t live stream the French Open as it happens then TVPlayer Plus will allows you to ‘record’ the matches and watch them later. You’ll need to sign up for a paid account, but the good news there is that the site offers a 14-day free trial so no payment is required.
Live stream the French Open from anywhere in the world
1. Download and install a VPN If you don’t have easy access to watch the French Open online in your country and want to catch the UK coverage, the best way to watch it for free is to download and install a VPN. We’ve tested all of the major VPN services and we rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services and ranks amongst the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation. So for a one-stop shop, you can’t go wrong with Express – but there are more fantastic VPN options out there as well:
The best 3 VPNs for streaming sports online 1. ExpressVPN: the best all-round VPN for streaming, comes with 30-day trial 2. NordVPN: SmartPlay tech makes NordVPN a great choice for streaming 3. VyprVPN: blazing speeds make VyprVPN a great choice for 4K video
2. Connect to the appropriate server location Simply open the VPN app, hit ‘choose location’ and select the appropriate location – it’s super easy to do. Choose UK if you want to stream the French Open live on TVPlayer using the link below.
3. Go to TVPlayer.com This is a great service and, crucially, is a free and legal way to stream live all the tennis action you can handle from Roland Garros. TVPlayer.com gives you access to tonnes more channels.
Where can I watch Roland Garros using a VPN?
A VPN will enable you to get the French Open live stream from literally anywhere. So that obviously includes: Spain, Austria, Canada, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, China, Russia, France, Japan, Italy, Poland, Germany, Mexico, Czech Republic, Thailand, Denmark, China, South Africa, Argentina, Singapore, Turkey and more!
How to watch Rafa Nadal vs Dominic Thiem in the US
In the US, you’ve got a couple of different options for catching the final in the States, you can either tune into the Tennis Channel or NBC Sports. It’s worth knowing that both of these are paid-for services so in order to watch you’ll need to have a subscription.
If neither of those works for you, there’s always the VPN option for a completely free watch. By downloading and installing a VPN, you can effectively trick your computer into thinking that it’s in the UK. It’s really easy to get started with a VPN.
How to watch the French Open final: Australia stream
In Australia, your options are slightly more limited, with Fox being the only broadcaster to cover Roland Garros this year. As this is a subscription service, you’ll need to be a paid-up member in order to watch.
Failing that, use of a VPN would allow you to watch the free UK coverage.
The best way to stream the French Open final 2018 in Canada
In Canada, it’s a similar deal, you’ve got fairly limited options, it will be covered by TSN and RDS, but again, these are subscription services.
If you want to watch for free, your best bet is to use a VPN and access the UK (or French coverage if you’re French-speaking) coverage for no cost in the comfort of your own home.
The best way to stream the French Open final 2018 in New Zealand
In New Zealand you’re going to be able to catch all the action on Sky NZ, although again, this is a paid service.
If you want to catch it but don’t have a Sky subscription you can use a VPN to access the free UK coverage.
