Daily Tech Snippet: Wednesday, September 2

Google will Penalize App-Install Ads in Search Rankings: Google is on a mission to clean up the mobile Web and make it comport to its vision of the world. In April, the search engine tweaked its search algorithm to favor sites it deemed “mobile-friendly” — a shift the industry dubbed “mobilegeddon”. Now Google is adding another metric for mobile friendliness: The absence of ads that take over a screen and push an app. Starting today, those ads will be included in the mobile test Google gives publishers. Then, starting Nov. 1, sites that carry those ads will be punished in search rankings. Daniel Bathgate, a Google search engineer, explained the rationale in a post: “Our analysis shows that it is not a good search experience and can be frustrating for users because they are expecting to see the content of the Web page.” For Google, the changes are geared specifically at search results, part of its ongoing effort to make querying on mobile better. The changes will only affect sites pushing app-install ads in search results, so they don’t restrict the ads within apps. Also, the tweak won’t hit full-screen blasts that promote other publisher treats, like email newsletters or the ‘Like us on Facebook’ pages that digital publications such as Vice and Fusion use. Thus far, there’s some evidence that Google’s attempt to improve the quality of mobile websites has improved its ability to make money from them.

How Does Amazon Choose Which Listings get the Buy Box?: Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t release the algorithm it uses to award the Buy Box, and there’s no way to buy your way into that spot. Yes, maintaining a low price contributes to earning that precious real estate, but a few other strategies can increase your chances of getting there: Become a High-Rated Seller: Demand a high level of customer satisfaction from yourself and your team, and keep your seller metrics high. Maintain Available Quantity: Monitor your quantity levels and always keep enough inventory to meet demand. Build a Successful Sales History: Develop a track record of converting sales and providing quality customer service. Lower Your Refund Rate: Fulfill orders quickly and efficiently, and ensure your product descriptions are accurate. Earn Positive Customer Feedback: Solicit feedback and resolve any negative responses immediately. Reduce A-to-Z Guarantee Claims: Manage each claim quickly, and issue refunds where necessary. Participate in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): FBA can handle your fulfillment and customer service elements, so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

Offline Viewing of Video From Amazon Prime Streaming: Amazon said it would allow members of its $99 annual Prime loyalty program free downloads of some shows and movies from its streaming video service to watch offline, or when no Internet connection is available. The programs will be available via the Amazon Video app for iOS or Android. Shows will be downloadable to Apple and Android phones and tablets, including Amazon’s Fire devices — but not to desktops or laptops. Available programs include “Downton Abbey” and “The Good Wife,” HBO shows including “Girls” and “Veep” and movies including “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Amazon has been expanding services for Prime members, including its Prime Instant Video service, to attract more subscribers to the annual program. Netflix said it had no plans to follow suit.

New iOS malware should make you think twice about jailbreaking your iPhone: Information about the Apple accounts of more than 200,000 iPhone users who "jailbroke" their phones has been stolen by cybercriminals who could use the data to lock the phones and hold them for ransom, according to Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity research firm. The malware behind the digital theft, dubbed "KeyRaider," has "successfully stolen over 225,000 valid Apple accounts and thousands of certificates, private keys, and purchasing receipts," Palo Alto researchers said in a blog post. The stolen data appears to have been downloaded to an insecure server where hackers can easily gain access to it, the researchers said. The problem appears to be isolated to phones that were altered to bypass Apple's attempts to keep users safe. Apple keeps tight control over what apps are allowed on iPhones, running basic security tests before allowing them to be downloaded. But some iPhone users have bristled at such restrictions, and to escape them, some people "jailbreak" their phones -- taking steps to get around restrictions built into the devices so can they install things not available in the official App Store.

Indian woman who sued Uber over rape accusation ends lawsuit: A woman who sued Uber after accusing one of its drivers of raping her in India has voluntarily ended her lawsuit against the company, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The passenger, who reported being raped and beaten after hailing a ride with the Uber driver in Delhi last year, sued the online car service in a U.S. federal court in January, claiming the company failed to maintain basic safety procedures. The driver was arrested by Indian police and appeared in court in December. Uber's Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick at the time called the incident "horrific" and pledged to help "bring this perpetrator to justice." However, Uber also argued in court filings that the woman sued the wrong corporate entity as the driver had a contract with Uber B.V., a Netherlands-based entity with no U.S. operations. The court filing did not disclose any details on how the case was settled, and representatives for Uber and the woman declined to commen

This Company Is Still Making Audio Cassettes and Sales Are Better Than Ever: The audiocassette tape is not dead. In fact, one Springfield, Mo., cassette maker says it has had its best year since it opened in 1969. “You can characterize our operating model as stubbornness and stupidity. We were too stubborn to quit,” said National Audio Company President Steve Stepp. NAC is the largest and one of the few remaining manufacturers of audiocassettes in the U.S. The profitable company produced more than 10 million tapes in 2014 and sales are up 20 percent this year. “Probably the thing that has really enlarged our business at a faster phase than anything is the retro movement,” Stepp said. "There's the nostalgia of holding the audio cassette in your hand.” NAC has deals with major record labels like Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group as well as a number of small contracts with indie bands. About 70 percent of the company’s sales are from music cassettes while the rest are blank cassettes. “There was a drive from the independent bands to get that warm analog sound again, and it just continued to grow and grow,” said NAC Production Manager Susie Brown. The company still uses machines built in the 1970s in its production lines.

Google Launches Native Ads In Gmail To All Advertisers: Google is rolling out a new ad format in Gmail to all advertisers today. A few years ago, Google launched a new kind of native ad in Gmail that sat at the top of the inbox and mostly looked like a regular email. For the most part, that was a pretty unobtrusive way of displaying ads (though some people were rather annoyed by them). Starting today, Google is making it easier for all advertisers to buy these ads. Advertisers can now buy these new Gmail ads directly from AdWords. For Gmail users, these ads will work very differently from the type of ads Google first introduced for Gmail and they will appear both in the mobile versions of Gmail and on the web. The native ads are collapsed by default and will expand to full-page native ads when you click on them. Google says the idea here is to “recreate the informational and visual richness of a landing page.” It looks like Google will charge advertisers every time a user expands one of these ad units (and all subsequent clicks from there are then free). What’s interesting is that these ads are made for forwarding, too, with a “forward” and “Save to Inbox” link underneath all of them. When you click on “Save to Inbox,” the ad will move into your inbox and you can then treat it just like any other regular email.

Why Lyft Should Go Public Before Uber: It’s no secret that Lyft is far smaller than Uber. It’s in 65 cities in the U.S. compared to Uber’s 60 countries around the world. A 2014 study done by financial firm FutureAdvisor, which analyzed U.S. credit and debit card transactions, said that Uber’s American revenue was 12 times that of Lyft. Uber’s aggression has resulted in its American dominance; even its name has become common slang for “ride-share.” If Lyft was to go public before Uber, it would steal some of the black car company’s thunder. Consumer tech IPOs are regularly big marketing events. Given that few on-demand companies have gone public, the first IPO of a ride-hailing service would attract a lot of attention. By going public first, Lyft would also be able to grab early dollars, attracting investors that didn’t have the opportunity to access Uber’s big private funding rounds. Just like Uber injured Lyft’s private fundraising efforts by snapping up a huge array of potential investors for itself, Lyft could try a similar tactic with the public market. Not everyone will have the money or risk-taking appetite to back multiple ride-hailing companies. Lastly, a comparatively early IPO would give Lyft more money for its battle with Uber. At this point, the former has far less cash reserves — $1 billion — than the latter, which has more than $5 billion. Going public is primarily a way to raise a lot of money and fuel the business’s growth, and Lyft could use that. Despite the reasons it would make sense for Lyft to go public before Uber, its investors and advisers warned that they weren’t sure that was likely to happen. One said that since Lyft’s founders, John Zimmer and Logan Green, were “conservative” in their endeavors they might not take the risk of paving the ride-hailing IPO way. Another said that the company wouldn’t want to preempt a public offering if its finances and growth numbers weren’t strong enough for the quarterly scrutiny of the market (see Twitter as an example of why an early IPO doesn’t always end well).