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Tech NewsIt’s Time to Redefine Broadband Speeds
Let’s face it: A 25 Mbps download speed isn’t enough internet these days. It wasn’t necessarily enough before the current pandemic, but with many families now working and going to school from home, those with the minimum broadband speed have probably discovered there isn’t enough bandwidth to go around. Which is why it’s time for … Continued
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Tech NewsLeaked DNC Platform Is Troublingly Vague on Net Neutrality
Buried deep within a leaked 79-page draft of the Democratic National Committee’s 2020 platform are promises to “recommit” to net neutrality and bridge the digital divide once and for all. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders had already outlined similar plans in a joint task force document that was recently released, but … Continued
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Tech NewsCommunity Broadband Will Make the Internet Cheaper for Us All
The digital divide in the U.S. was apparent long before the pandemic forced many of us to go about our usual work/school day from our home computers. ISPs responded by waiving late fees, removing data caps, and opening up hotspots for free, but only temporarily. If you’re lucky enough to have more than one ISP … Continued
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Tech NewsWhat Did People Use Before Google to Search the Web?
The year is 1997. You’re wearing whatever people wore back then—some kind of jean jacket, I’m guessing—and talking to your friend about your new favorite movie, the recently released Mike Myers vehicle Austin Powers. You’re quoting the movie, and your friend thinks this is hilarious. Then things take a dark turn. “I thought Randy Quaid … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Is Why Half the Internet Shut Down Today
Scores of websites and services went down Friday afternoon due to problems with Cloudflare’s DNS service, sparking rampant speculation about the cause. After all, a global DDOS attack would totally fit the real-life apocalypse movie that 2020 is increasingly turning into. The outage, which started shortly after 5 p.m. ET, brought down popular sites and … Continued
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Tech NewsVerizon Said Its 5G Network Is Huge. Then Reality Hit
Last year, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said its millimeter-wave 5G coverage would only be available in select areas instead of nationwide, clarifying that the company would use high-frequency millimeter waves “as far as [they’re] economically sustainable.” But that didn’t stop the company from falsely implying its millimeter-wave 5G coverage was widely available across the U.S. … Continued
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EartherIndia Might Be Censoring Environmental Organizations Online
Three Indian environmental organizations’ websites appear to have been censored in the country. Yash Marwah, founder of the Indian environmental communications organization Let India Breathe, noticed something was wrong with his organization’s website late last month. “Followers kept coming and telling us that the site is not working,” he told Earther via WhatsApp. At first, … Continued
By Dharna Noor -
Tech NewsBiden’s Grand Plan for the Internet: Restore Net Neutrality, Create Municipal Broadband
If elected president, Joe Biden has big plans. In addition tackling climate change, reforming the criminal justice system, and expanding health care coverage, Biden aims to restore net neutrality rules and get rid of laws that block municipal broadband, or internet access that’s provided fully or partially by local governments. He outlined the plan in … Continued
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io9Digimon Adventure Teased Its Big Bad by Establishing a Wild New Canon
For all of the Digimon Adventure reboot’s narrative similarities to the original anime that it’s based on, the new series has been carefully introducing unique elements to its telling of the story about human children partnering with Digimon to save the digital world. While the reboot’s yet to fully introduce all of its important characters, … Continued
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Tech NewsAlphabet’s Internet-Beaming Loon Balloons Now Providing Service in Kenya
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has deployed a fleet of internet-delivering, high-altitude balloons in Kenya, an initiative that the company’s CEO said will be “the first of many” future commercial deployments in other parts of the world. Loon chief Alastair Westgarth announced in a blog post this week that the 4G LTE network connectivity … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsCox Claims It Can Reduce Your Gaming Lag If You Cough Up Some Cash
Cox has officially rolled out its own “Elite Gamer” internet add-on service in the U.S., something it started testing in April 2019 in select cities. Elite Gamer is a Gamers Private Network (GPN) that helps reduce lag while playing an online game. New and existing customers anywhere in the U.S. can now try Cox’s new … Continued
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Tech NewsSpaceX’s Starlink Broadband Service Might Be Too Slow for the FCC
Based on requirements and procedures detailed in a Federal Communications Commission report published last week, SpaceX might not have good enough broadband service to qualify for phase one of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction in October. In fact, the FCC thinks it’s unlikely that any low-Earth orbit satellite company will be able to meet … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsThe Best Apps for Fixing Your Wifi
Troubleshooting your wifi can be an exercise in frustration. Why aren’t you getting the speeds you promised? Why does your phone lose connection behind the fish tank? Just how much of a difference is your new mesh router making? To answer these and more questions, you need to install a wifi analyzer app on your … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsCox Might Slow Down a Whole Neighborhood’s Internet If One Person Is Using Too Much Data
If there is anything as quite as infuriating as internet data caps, having your internet speed throttled is up there—especially if you pay extra to have ultra-fast, uncapped internet. According to Ars Technica, Cox Communications not only wants certain customers to stop using so much data, it’s also reportedly punishing entire neighborhoods to get those … Continued
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Tech NewsWhat Did We Say About AT&T Being Allowed to Own HBO?
Remember when we said killing Net Neutrality could lead to internet service providers charging more for specific content? Paid-prioritization or internet ‘fast lanes’ were and still are a major concern for Net Neutrality supporters. With good reason, too. We’re starting to see that concern manifest into reality. As reported by The Verge, AT&T will not … Continued
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Tech NewsTech PolicyU.S. Copyright Office Says It’s Time to Update the DMCA—Mostly in Favor of Rightsholders
The U.S. Copyright Office has released a long-awaited, 192-page report that could give the music and movie industry an opening to fight for stricter enforcement of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The report concludes that the DMCA is largely working, but also found that the section 512 safe harbor provision—a cornerstone of the law that … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech News$1.1 Billion Sale of .Org Registry to Private Equity Leeches Voted Down by ICANN
Something good has happened for once: The Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers voted to block its partner organization, the Internet Society, from selling off control over the .org domain registry to private equity goons in a deal opposed by virtually everyone who wouldn’t have an opportunity to cash in. Ethos Capital, a firm … Continued
By Tom McKay -
io9Digimon Universe: App Monsters Is Better Than You Remember
Every season ofDigimon has more or less followed the same basic formula, introducing different groups of chosen children who embark upon epic adventures into physical manifestations of the world’s digital telecommunication infrastructure. But no two seasons have been exactly the same as they’ve each had unique overarching themes and novel takes on the “Digital World.” … Continued
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Tech NewsFCC Just Voted to Make Wifi Better for Everyone
The FCC voted today to allow unlicensed use of the 6GHz wifi spectrum, the goal of which is to help unclog the current 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, expand wifi through rural America, and help consumers take full advantage of the new WiFi 6 standard. While this is the largest addition to the mid-band wifi spectrum … Continued
