Google, Facebook and Amazon blast the FCC’s Internet ‘fast lanes’ proposal

By Mike Flacy Published April 24, 2023

Detailed within a joint letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission earlier today, a large group of Internet companies spoke out against the FCC’s rumored plan to allow Internet service providers the ability to charge for faster content delivery. Signed by nearly 150 companies in total, the largest names on the list included Amazon, Dropbox, Ebay, Etsy, Facebook, Foursquare, Google, Imgur, Kickstarter, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Mozilla, Netflix, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, UStream, Yahoo! and Zynga. The group specifically called the FCC’s proposal a “grave threat to the Internet.”

Speaking about a preferred course of action, the group said “Instead of permitting individualized bargaining and discrimination, the Commission’s rules should protect users and Internet companies on both fixed and mobile platforms against blocking, discrimination and paid prioritization, and should make the market for Internet services more transparent. The rules should provide certainty to all market participants and keep the costs of regulation low.” For companies like Amazon, this represents the first time that many of these companies have taken a public stance on the future of net neutrality.

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Up to this point, the FCC’s recent proposal has faced serious disapproval from net neutrality advocates as well as many Internet companies. Assuming the proposal is actually considered by the commission, the group will vote on the proposal on May 15, 2014.

Net neutrality advocates also gained the support of Democratic Senator Al Franken this week. Speaking about the proposal, Franken said “We cannot allow the FCC to implement a pay-to-play system that silences our voices and amplifies that of big corporate interest.” The FCC is also allowing the public to submit comments prior to May 15. Those comments will be taken under advisement by the commission prior to the potential vote.

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Computing

ChromeOS 134 preview teases accessibility features, quick insert improvements

The back of the Asus Chromebook CX1.

The next ChromeOS update is expected to drop in the coming days and the chromeOS.dev team has once again shared notes of the features scheduled to come with the next version of the Chromebook operating system. According to the team, the initial ChromeOS 134 update will be available starting this coming Monday, March 17th. However, many of the features may arrive at dates beyond the primary rollout.

The features previewed on ChromeOS 134 developers' notes so far have proven to be very interesting and functional, and this set is no different. The notes share details on improvements for Google’s Quick Insert feature, special enterprise features, more accessibility features, and content manageability tools. Here’s a rundown of what you can expect.
Slow Keys
ChromeOS 134 has noted its commitment to improvements, including accessibility on its software with each version, and this function is another example. Slow Keys is a feature that can help users who require more time and attention in their typing tasks to press keys with intent. It should especially be helpful for users with conditions that affect their fine motor skills, such as tremors, arthritis, or numbness to the fingertips.

Computing

Report: Apple’s AI plans for Siri hit major roadblocks behind the scenes

Type to Siri being used with Apple Intelligence in macOS Sequoia.

A new report from Bloomberg has claimed that the Apple’s plans for an AI overhaul of its Siri voice assistant have not gone as smoothly as the brand originally hoped, but that plans plans may be subject to a delay.

The publication indicated that the Siri team recently had an all-hands meeting where Apple senior director Robby Walker, discussed the state of the project, calling the delay an “ugly” situation.

Computing

Mobile-based free VR tool is helping people beat speech anxiety

Person wearing a VR kit for speech training.

Virtual Reality was once considered a niche for video games, but over the years, it has found application in many areas. From finding a place in medical education and paving the way for immersive concerts to helping teens and adults deal with psychological distress, the applications of VR are now an ever-expanding domain.
The latest VR innovation comes from the University of Cambridge, and it aims to help people overcome speech anxiety and the fear of public speaking. The institution’s Immersive Technology Lab has launched a free VR training platform that focuses on accessibility and provides expert-curated course material.
Terrified of public speaking? This Cambridge VR solution could eliminate your fear
To that end, the team has created a system that doesn’t necessarily rely on an expensive VR headset. Instead, all it needs is the smartphone in your pocket to provide an immersive experience, fitted atop a mounting kit that can cost as little as $20 a pop.
The training material, on the other hand, is freely available via a website to anyone across the world. Moreover, it is also one of the first products of its kind with a dual-compatible VR player architecture, which means it works just fine with iPhones and Android devices.

“The platform has been built in such a way that whether a participant is using the latest standalone VR headset or an old smartphone inserted into a device mount, they will get the same content and the same experience,” says the team.
The idea is not too different from the Google Cardboard, which cost $15 roughly a decade ago and offered a low-cost route to experiencing VR content by using one’s smartphone. But unlike Google’s approach, we have now entered a market phase where “converter kits” are a lot more polished and use higher quality materials.