FCC Republicans vow to gut net neutrality rules “as soon as possible”

Pai and O’Rielly also promise not to enforce disclosure rules on small ISPs.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Kheng ho Toh)

The Federal Communications Commission's two Republican members told ISPs yesterday that they will get to work on gutting net neutrality rules "as soon as possible."

FCC Republicans Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly sent a letter to five lobby groups representing wireless carriers and small ISPs; while the letter is mostly about plans to extend an exemption for small providers from certain disclosure requirements, the commissioners also said they will tackle the entire net neutrality order shortly after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20.

"[W]e will seek to revisit [the disclosure] requirements, and the Title II Net Neutrality proceeding more broadly, as soon as possible," they wrote, referring to the order that imposed net neutrality rules and reclassified ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. Pai and O'Rielly noted that they "dissented from the Commission's February 2015 Net Neutrality decision, including the Order's imposition of unnecessary and unjustified burdens on providers."

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BlackBerry sees path to profitability following shift from hardware to software

BlackBerry sees path to profitability following shift from hardware to software

BlackBerry’s name was once synonymous with “smartphone.” But times have changed, with iOS and Android now dominating the smartphone space. Phones running BlackBerry’s own operating system have a virtually insignificant market share.

So the company tried something new starting last year: it released an Android smartphone called the BlackBerry Priv that uses Google’s operating system, but also a bunch of BlackBerry-specific apps and features.

This year the company pretty much stopped developing its own hardware altogether and recently announced a licensing deal with TCL to sell BlackBerry-branded phones while BlackBerry itself provides software and services to TCL and others.

Continue reading BlackBerry sees path to profitability following shift from hardware to software at Liliputing.

BlackBerry sees path to profitability following shift from hardware to software

BlackBerry’s name was once synonymous with “smartphone.” But times have changed, with iOS and Android now dominating the smartphone space. Phones running BlackBerry’s own operating system have a virtually insignificant market share.

So the company tried something new starting last year: it released an Android smartphone called the BlackBerry Priv that uses Google’s operating system, but also a bunch of BlackBerry-specific apps and features.

This year the company pretty much stopped developing its own hardware altogether and recently announced a licensing deal with TCL to sell BlackBerry-branded phones while BlackBerry itself provides software and services to TCL and others.

Continue reading BlackBerry sees path to profitability following shift from hardware to software at Liliputing.

Krise: Crytek trennt sich von fast allen externen Studios

Die Zentrale in Frankfurt bleibt, dazu eine Filiale in Kiew: Das offenbar angeschlagene Entwicklerstudio Crytek will sich auf seine Kernstärken besinnen – insbesondere die Cryengine. Die Zukunft der anderen Niederlassungen ist ungewiss. (Crytek, Crysis)

Die Zentrale in Frankfurt bleibt, dazu eine Filiale in Kiew: Das offenbar angeschlagene Entwicklerstudio Crytek will sich auf seine Kernstärken besinnen - insbesondere die Cryengine. Die Zukunft der anderen Niederlassungen ist ungewiss. (Crytek, Crysis)

LG ProBeam is a compact laser projector coming to CES

LG ProBeam is a compact laser projector coming to CES

Projectors come in all sorts of shapes and sizes these days, with some models small enough to slap on the back of a smartphone. But most projectors that are good enough to actually replace a big screen TV tend to be a bit larger. LG’s new ProBeam, though, shows that they don’t need to be enormous.

It’s a 4.6 pound, 1920 x 1080 pixel laser projector with 2,000 lumen brightness. LG plans to show off the new laser projector at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Continue reading LG ProBeam is a compact laser projector coming to CES at Liliputing.

LG ProBeam is a compact laser projector coming to CES

Projectors come in all sorts of shapes and sizes these days, with some models small enough to slap on the back of a smartphone. But most projectors that are good enough to actually replace a big screen TV tend to be a bit larger. LG’s new ProBeam, though, shows that they don’t need to be enormous.

It’s a 4.6 pound, 1920 x 1080 pixel laser projector with 2,000 lumen brightness. LG plans to show off the new laser projector at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Continue reading LG ProBeam is a compact laser projector coming to CES at Liliputing.

Antimaterie: Forscher untersuchen Lichtspektrum von Antiwasserstoff

Die Symmetrie bleibt gewagt: Antiwasserstoff zeigt die gleichen optischen Eigenschaften wie Wasserstoff. Das haben Cern-Forscher nachgewiesen und damit Vorhersagen des Standardmodells bestätigt. (Antimaterie, Cern)

Die Symmetrie bleibt gewagt: Antiwasserstoff zeigt die gleichen optischen Eigenschaften wie Wasserstoff. Das haben Cern-Forscher nachgewiesen und damit Vorhersagen des Standardmodells bestätigt. (Antimaterie, Cern)

Sicherheitslücke bei Routern: Netgear liefert erste finale Firmware-Updates

Nach der schwerwiegenden Sicherheitslücke stellt Netgear erste Updates zur Verfügung. Für sieben betroffene Router liegen weiterhin nur Beta-Versionen vor. (Netgear, Netzwerk)

Nach der schwerwiegenden Sicherheitslücke stellt Netgear erste Updates zur Verfügung. Für sieben betroffene Router liegen weiterhin nur Beta-Versionen vor. (Netgear, Netzwerk)

Engineers find anomaly during James Webb Space Telescope tests [Updated]

An unknown problem occurred during vibration tests to simulate launch conditions.

Enlarge / Artist's impression of the James Webb Space Telescope. (credit: NASA)

Dec. 24th Update: In an update posted Friday on the health of its James Webb Space Telescope, NASA reported that engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center are "making good progress at identifying the root cause of the vibration anomaly." During two subsequent vibration tests, the large instrument was found to be in sound condition, and engineers expect to finalize their investigation and plans to move forward in early January. As about six months of "reserve" remain the the telescope's development timeline, its launch date of October 2018 has not yet been affected.

Original post: It's never a good thing when an anomaly is detected in your scientific instrument during pre-operational testing. When that instrument is the James Webb Space Telescope—which is expected to cost about $8.8 billion, cannot be fixed after launch, and is counted upon to provide insights about the earliest days of the Universe—it's cause for significant concern.

The anomaly occurred earlier this month, on December 3, during vibration testing at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. As part of the run-up to a launch in late 2018, the telescope will be subjected to all manner of conditions, from extreme temperatures to a hard vacuum, to ensure that it will survive during its five- to 10-year mission in deep space. The telescope must also withstand its launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, and the vibration test mimicked the shaking and gravitational forces of launch. After the test began, accelerometers detected "anomalous readings," but so far the cause of the anomaly has yet to be determined.

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Battlefield 1: Erweiterung mit französischen Soldaten im Anmarsch

Bislang gibt es in Battlefield 1 keine Fraktion mit französischen Soldaten, die erste kostenpflichtige Erweiterung soll das ändern. Ab März 2017 soll es außerdem weitere Waffen und zusätzliche Karten geben. (Battlefield, Electronic Arts)

Bislang gibt es in Battlefield 1 keine Fraktion mit französischen Soldaten, die erste kostenpflichtige Erweiterung soll das ändern. Ab März 2017 soll es außerdem weitere Waffen und zusätzliche Karten geben. (Battlefield, Electronic Arts)

Lenovo’s ZUK Edge is a Chinese phone with super-slim bezels

Lenovo’s ZUK Edge is a Chinese phone with super-slim bezels

The war on screen bezels continues, and Lenovo’s new entry comes in the form of a phone with an 86.4 percent screen-to-body ratio. Lenovo sub-brand ZUK has launched a 5.5 inch Android phone for China called the ZUK Edge, and it has super-thin bezels on the left and right sides of the screen, as well as reasonably compact top and bottom borders.

While the ZUK Edge isn’t quite as eye-catching as Xiaomi’s Mi Mix, it’s also not as expensive.

Continue reading Lenovo’s ZUK Edge is a Chinese phone with super-slim bezels at Liliputing.

Lenovo’s ZUK Edge is a Chinese phone with super-slim bezels

The war on screen bezels continues, and Lenovo’s new entry comes in the form of a phone with an 86.4 percent screen-to-body ratio. Lenovo sub-brand ZUK has launched a 5.5 inch Android phone for China called the ZUK Edge, and it has super-thin bezels on the left and right sides of the screen, as well as reasonably compact top and bottom borders.

While the ZUK Edge isn’t quite as eye-catching as Xiaomi’s Mi Mix, it’s also not as expensive.

Continue reading Lenovo’s ZUK Edge is a Chinese phone with super-slim bezels at Liliputing.