I recently ran into an blog article by Jonathan at WhoIsHostingThis.com which is a web hosting review site. The article in question was calling for the Internet as we know it to become a public utility. This is a meme that crops up from time to time, but has definitely had some additional traction as of late.

A hot topic in the smartphone field is mobile payments, especially Near Field Technology (NFC), as an alternative to debit cards. However, I don’t recall seeing, in any of the discussions of mobile payments, much about the possible impact of the Durbin Amendment, the provision added to Dodd-Frank that imposes fee caps and multi-network requirements [...]

IBM has given us a peek into the future of computing technology with their demonstration of Watson on the Jeopardy TV show. It’s only a matter of time before the technology is shrunk in size and cost to practical levels and the world will be radically different for today’s children when they reach adulthood.

Smartphones are already a large source of images posted on photo sharing sites like Flickr because of their ubiquitous mobile Internet connectivity. New image array cameras could make smartphones even more dominant, even against higher end compact point-n-shoot cameras.

Spiwak contemplates the notion of States Rights as applied to the Open Internet order in his latest Perspectives piece for the Phoenix Center.

On Thurs, Feb. 17, House Financial Services will have a hearing on“Understanding the Federal Reserve’s Proposed Rule on Interchange Fees: Implications and Consequences of the Durbin Amendment.” 10:00 a.m. in 2128 Rayburn HOB. From the perspective of DS, the relevance is twofold: (1) The connections between this regulation and regulations of other networks, such as [...]

On Wed., Feb. 16, Senate Judiciary will have a hearing on “Targeting Websites Dedicated To Stealing American Intellectual Property.” In other words: COICA. 10:00 a.m. in Dirksen 226. Prior DS commentary here, here, here, here, here : Witnesses: Tom Adams – President and CEO, Rosetta Stone Inc. Scott Turow  – President, Authors Guild Christine N. [...]

The litany of posts and pontifications about cord cutting continues unabated, yet few people take the time to actually look at what’s really going on. The Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro recently touted the benefits of ditching cable, but in the same breath admitted that it works best for people who a) don’t watch much TV, b) live in an area with great OTA reception, c) don’t watch live sports much, and d) don’t mind relying on DVD rentals to catch first-run movies. This isn’t to say that the cable industry doesn’t face challenges from online video. It’s just that the challenge is somewhat different from what’s being reported.

Consumers Union is acting more like the professional whiner’s association. What next, refunds on new cars when next year’s model comes out? It’s also strange that they’re complaining about CDMA and GSM interoperability now when the entire industry is moving towards GSM.

Schulz comments on the implementation of Net Neutrality rules and the appointment of Tim Wu to the FTC as further evidence that Washington does not understand technology. He believes these two gentlemen see the “health and vigor” of the tech sector and destructive.