company:hasbro

Follow your dreams (literally): How I designed and launched the Official #scrabble #keyboard
▻https://hackernoon.com/follow-your-dreams-literally-how-i-designed-and-launched-the-official-sc

This past month, I released a project that I’ve been working on for a while that brought together a major consumer brand and a growing startup to produce a pretty amazing (if I do say so myself), officially licensed collaboration. I wanted to share my story around how I came up with this idea, worked to make it happen while still doing my day job, and what the results looked like.The project is an officially licensed Scrabble-themed mechanical keyboard, which was made via a combination of my design, Hasbro’s brand, and #massdrop as the seller and manufacturer. Also, there’s just keycaps too, if you want to use/get your own mechanical keyboard and customize it!I’m full time at Amazon working on Alexa, but in my free time I’m into a bunch of hobbies, especially mechanical keyboards. If you (...)

#mechanical-keyboards

Activision-Hasbro deal expires, Transformers games pulled from digital stores
▻http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-01-12-activision-hasbro-deal-expires-transformers-games-pulled-f

War for Cybertron, Transformers Devastation and more no longer available to buy as download

#Publishing

A Cute Toy Just Brought a Hacker Into Your Home - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/technology/connected-toys-hacking.html?emc=edit_th_20171222&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=25

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/12/20/business/00TOYHACK1/merlin_131294774_6a643b0e-b08b-4131-97cf-a0e44f1ace0d-facebookJumbo.jpg

SAN FRANCISCO — My Friend Cayla, a doll with nearly waist-length golden hair that talks and responds to children’s questions, was designed to bring delight to households. But there’s something else that Cayla might bring into homes as well: hackers and identity thieves.

Earlier this year, Germany’s Federal Network Agency, the country’s regulatory office, labeled Cayla “an illegal espionage apparatus” and recommended that parents destroy it. Retailers there were told they could sell the doll only if they disconnected its ability to connect to the internet, the feature that also allows in hackers. And the Norwegian Consumer Council called Cayla a “failed toy.”

The doll is not alone. As the holiday shopping season enters its frantic last days, many manufacturers are promoting “connected” toys to keep children engaged. There’s also a smart watch for kids, a droid from the recent “Star Wars” movies and a furry little Furby. These gadgets can all connect with the internet to interact — a Cayla doll can whisper to children in several languages that she’s great at keeping secrets, while a plush Furby Connect doll can smile back and laugh when tickled.

But once anything is online, it is potentially exposed to hackers, who look for weaknesses to gain access to digitally connected devices. Then once hackers are in, they can use the toys’ cameras and microphones to potentially see and hear whatever the toy sees and hears. As a result, according to cybersecurity experts, the toys can be turned to spy on little ones or to track their location.

“Parents need to be aware of what they are buying and bringing home to their children,” said Javvad Malik, a researcher with cybersecurity company AlienVault. “Many of these internet-connected devices have trivial ways to bypass security, so people have to be aware of what they’re buying and how secure it is.”

Un paragraphe spécial pour celles et ceux qui ont lu « Maman a tort » de Michel Bussi :

Consider the Furby Connect doll made by Hasbro, a furry egg-shaped gadget that comes in teal, pink and purple. Researchers from Which?, a British charity, and the German consumer group Stiftung Warentest recently found that the Bluetooth feature of the Furby Connect could enable anyone within 100 feet of the doll to hijack the connection and use it to turn on the microphone and speak to children.

Mais foutez-donc la paix aux enfants !!!!

Toy manufacturers have long searched for ways to bring toys alive for children. While microphones and cameras introduced some level of responsiveness, those interactions were generally limited to a canned response preset by a manufacturer. Internet connections opened up a new wealth of possibilities; now the toys can be paired with a computer or cellphone to allow children to constantly update their toys with new features.

“That’s so scary, I had no idea that was possible,” she said. “What’s the worst hackers can do? Wait, no, don’t tell me. I’d just rather get my kids an old-fashioned doll.”

#Jouets_connectés #Cybersécurité #Enfants

#CopyrightMadness : Bilbo Le Hobbit, droit d’auteur, Hasbro, Amazon…
▻http://www.numerama.com/pop-culture/251531-copyrightmadness-bilbo-le-hobbit-droit-dauteur-hasbro-amazon.html

http://www.numerama.com/content/uploads/2017/04/pate-modeler-play-doh-1024x579.jpg

Chaque week-end, c’est la compilation de l’actualité de la propriété intellectuelle et de ses dérives, concoctée par Lionel Maurel et Thomas Fourmeux. [Lire la suite]

Mattel jette un froid sur le secteur du jouet après un Noël décevant RTBF - AFP - 26 Janvier 2016
▻http://www.rtbf.be/info/economie/detail_mattel-jette-un-froid-sur-le-secteur-du-jouet-apres-un-noel-decevant?id=

Le fabricant de jouets américain Mattel, qui produit la célèbre poupée Barbie, a annoncé mercredi des résultats très décevants pour l’importante période des fêtes de fin d’année, disant avoir souffert d’un ralentissement général du marché aux Etats-Unis et d’effets de change défavorables.

L’annonce a jeté un froid sur l’ensemble du secteur des jouets à Wall Street : Mattel a perdu plus de 10% dans les échanges électroniques suivant la clôture de la Bourse de New York, entraînant dans sa chute le concurrent Hasbro (-3% environ vers 23H30 GMT).

http://ds1.static.rtbf.be/article/image/1248x702/a/1/9/2801677ec95ea708960194349c96a0c205321800.jpg

Recul de 8% du chiffre d’affaires
Mattel a vu son chiffre d’affaires reculer de 8% au quatrième trimestre pour ressortir à seulement 1,83 milliard de dollars quand les analystes espéraient en moyenne 1,96 milliard.

Son bénéfice net s’est effondré pour sa part de 19% à 174 millions de dollars, et le résultat ajusté par action, qui sert de référence à Wall Street, a atteint seulement 52 cents quand le marché en escomptait 71.
Des promos pour écouler les stocks

Le PDG du groupe, Christopher Sinclair, a invoqué « une série de difficultés concernant tout le secteur », notamment des évolutions défavorables des cours des devises et « un important ralentissement du marché des jouets aux Etats-Unis ».

Ce dernier s’est traduit par davantage de promotions dans les magasins pour écouler les stocks, et moins de livraisons, ce qui a eu « un impact important sur nos marges brutes », a ajouté M. Sinclair, qui laissera le mois prochain la direction générale à une ancienne dirigeante de Google, Margaret Georgiadis.
Barbie et Fisher-Price à la peine

Les ventes mondiales de la marque Barbie ont notamment reculé de 2% sur les trois derniers mois de l’année, celles de Fisher-Price de 3%, et celles des jeux de construction comme Mega Block de 4%. Le groupe a également souffert de la perte de la licence pour les produits liés aux princesses de Disney.

. . . . . . . . .

Comme quoi cette #multinationale du #sexisme n’est plus du tout en phase avec son temps

L’embuscade d’Hasbro | Korben
►http://korben.info/lembuscade-dhasbro.html

Après avoir publié un test produit sur le N-STRIKE ELITE “RAMPAGE” BLASTER (ça ne s’invente pas), qui n’est pas encore sorti, Hasbro a contacté le blogueur pour lui proposer un deal simple : Faire gagner des cadeaux à ses lecteurs.

Sympa non ? Il a donc donné son adresse postale pour recevoir les cadeaux et ô surprise, ce n’est pas un colis qu’il a reçu, mais carrément la visite d’un avocat d’#Hasbro qui lui a demandé l’identité, l’adresse IP et les informations personnelles de sa source, sans quoi il se ferait attaquer en justice.

Barbie, Legos, other toys linked to destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests
►http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0607-greenpeace_vs_barbie.html

Some of the world’s largest and most prominent toy-makers are sourcing their packaging materials from companies linked to large-scale destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests, alleges a new report from Greenpeace.

The report, How APP is Toying with Extinction [PDF], is based on forensic analysis of toy packaging from Mattel, which manufacturers Barbie and Hot Wheels toys; Disney, which makes a variety of toys linked to its movies; Hasbro, which produces GI Joe, Star Wars, and Sesame Street toys and various games like Monopoly and Scrabble; and Lego, which makes the iconic plastic building blocks. The analysis found traces of mixed-tropical hardwood (MTH) and acacia fiber which are principally sourced from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an umbrella paper products brand that sources from several companies that have been linked to rainforest destruction in Sumatra

#jeux #plastiques #bois #environnement