Here is a recap of some of the cable and ISP news around the country the week of June 12, 2017:
Google Gives You More Reasons to Give Them More Data
Maybe it is being too cynical but I get a bit suspicious when Google gives users gifts for free. Their newest gift, “Explore,” upgrades in Google Sheets are made possible by machine learning. The feature lets users ask for things in plain English. Want a certain graph? Just ask for a bar chart for ice cream sales. OK, so I know Google just wants users to spend more time on Google and, more importantly, wants more information to better build profiles to promote to advertisers but these new features are just so darn useful.
Apple Held its Annual World Wide Developer Conference
Recently Facebook, Google, and Microsoft all held big conferences with releases and other presentations designed to dazzle. Apple just held theirs in San Jose. Maybe following on the heels of the other tech giants events wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it was they just didn’t have that much to talk about. The things they did release were mostly upgrades and new versions of current products. IOS 11, Apple Watch OS4, iPads, iMacs and MacBooks. Oh, and now Amazon Prime Video is finally available on Apple TV. However, their new augmented reality platform, ARKit and the HomePod smart speakers were the exceptions. ARKit will enable developers to design AR experiences and the HomePod is Apple’s answer to Google’s Home and Amazon’s Echo.
Google’s Webpass Enters Seattle at Gigabit Speed
It’s not Google Fiber but Google possible replacement for Google Fiber, Webpass, announced this week that they will soon begin setting up buildings for its wireless Internet connections.
Webpass has started picking out buildings to link to first. The winner is Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, a 40-story luxury tower located above Pike Place Market. Webpass will be delivering speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
Webpass, which was bought by Google last year, wires the units in the building then connects the building through an antenna on the roof of the building.
New Fireball Malware Threat Infects Over 250 Million Computers
Israeli security firm Check Point has uncovered another massive infection on computers across the planet. They have traced it back to a Chinese “advertising” firm called Rafotech. So far, all the malware does is hijack the default search engine and to possibly click on ads but the potential for much more sinister activities is hiding below the surface. It can also download plug-ins and apps that generate profits for the attacker by redirecting traffic to the company’s websites.
State Of The Internet Report
Pioneering Content Delivery Network provider Akamai released its quarterly State of the Internet report recently ranked the US at number 10 for Internet speeds. With an average 18.7 Mbps, that places the US a good 10 Mbps behind world leader South Korea at 28.6. Other than Switzerland at number 5, the remainder of the top ten were located in either Scandinavia or Asia. Wireless connections showed the United Kingdom at number 1 with 26 Mbps. The US was way down the list at 28 with average speeds of 10.7 Mbps. This is despite literally billions of dollars in government subsidies to the multibillion dollar telecommunications corporations like Verizon and AT&T that were earmarked to help the companies build better infrastructure.
When You Look at Facebook, Facebook Looks at You
Facebook recently released a report on a study it did on users activities. It asked people if they watched a certain show. Then Facebook went back and looked their Facebook activity during that time. It found that of the people who said they watched the show, Facebook activity increased during the commercial breaks of that show, telling Facebook that the viewer did not watch the commercials on TV at that time, they looked at Facebook on their phone instead. Of the people who said they did not watch the show, there was no change in activity during commercial breaks. Facebook’s takeaway, is that advertising on Facebook is better than advertising on TV.
The thing that bothers me most about this is that Facebook can look back at users activities and see when they were most active after the fact.
Verizon To Layoff Up To 2000 AOL/Yahoo Employees
According to the Recode and TechCrunch websites, once Verizon’s new acquisitions become one, more than 2000 employees will be laid off. We already know that Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer will be leaving with a reported $23 million severance package once the two online companies merge to become Oath. Probably the other 2000 employees won’t be so lucky. Verizon’s purchase of AOL was completed in 2015 and the company plans to merge with Yahoo when the sale is finalized this month.
Verizon to Give Away Fios Triple Play to Some Customers
In the face of losing 13,000 video customers during the first quarter of 2017, Verizon has offered to give away a free year of its triple play service to customers selected for the test drive of a new, updated Fios offering. The new system will be released later this summer but some customers will be selected for the free triple play after responding to a survey.
Unboxed - Home Shopping Network Meets YouTube
In answer to the “unboxing” trend on YouTube, a new app called Unboxed streams live “unboxing” videos where viewers can ask the host questions about the product being unboxed and buy it immediately. The new start-up company Packagd, founded by former CTO of Hulu, Eric Feng, was inspired by the YouTube phenomena of the unboxing videos. Unboxing videos feature a person literally taking a product out of the box while reviewing it. Feng has tapped some of the stars of the unboxing channels already popular on YouTube. Cameras, drones, smart phones, video games, gaming consoles and other electronics will be taken out of the box streaming live on the app.
Frontier Dismisses Senator After He Voted Against Them
West Virginia Senate President Mitch Carmichael used to have a side-gig working for Frontier Communications. That is until the WV Senate passed a measure that Frontier opposed. In April, Carmichael voted for the bill which passed the Senate 31 to 1 and went on to pass the State House 97 to 2. The bill was designed to promote broadband competition and access. In May, Frontier let Carmichael go. West Virginia is currently ranked 48th in broadband availability in the nation by the FCC. Frontier Communications is the largest Internet service provider in the state.
Epix Network - Coming Soon To A 2018 Honda Odyssey Near You
Now you can have your own drive-in movie night with the Epix Network app in your 2018 Honda Odyssey. The first-of-its-kind service will probably be followed shortly by other premium channel apps like Showtime and HBO, and on demand services like Netflix. Currently, programs can only be viewed by rear-seat passengers, but with self-driving cars hitting the roads soon that may change.
Mozilla Survey Says: Most Americans Support Net Neutrality
According to a new poll just released by the Mozilla Foundation, just over three-fourths of all Americans support Net Neutrality. In spite of this, the FCC is moving to do away with the rules put in place a few years ago. The survey of 1000 Americans included 354 Democrats, 344 Republicans, and 224 Independents. The political leanings of the remaining people were not revealed. The survey also covered topics such as whether people trusted Internet service providers, Internet companies, and politicians. Eye opening was that people seem to trust the Internet Service Providers more than the government. The full results of the survey can be seen here.
Websites Plan Big Net Neutrality Rally July 12th
Fight for the Future Org, Amazon, Etsy, Mozilla, Reddit, Greenpeace, GitHub, the American Civil Liberties Union and others are all supporters of Net Neutrality and will make that known on July 12th as they participate in what they are calling an “Internet-wide day of action to save net neutrality.” For more information check out battleforthenet.com.