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Bring out the constitutional scholars: Verizon says the Federal Communications Commission's Net neutrality rules violate the right to free speech.

In a nutshell, Verizon argues that the FCC has overstepped its authority with its Net neutrality rules, going so far as to argue that the rules are unconstitutional -- Verizon sees the transmission of data across its network as "speech." As if that's not enough, the carrier argues that the rules are "arbitrary and capricious." In other words, Verizon doesn't believe the rules are necessary given that there hasn't been a big … Read more

Once in a while there's a big change, and Western Digital is having one of its own.

The major storage vendor today unveiled not a new hard drive or NAS server, but its very first networking devices in the My Net family. There are five routers and one Gigabit Ethernet switch, enough to challenge other major home-networking vendors, such as Cisco, D-Link, Trendnet, and Netgear.

Unlike other networking vendors whose lineups tend to start with a budget single-band router, WD starts with the My Net N600, a true dual-band router that offers 300Mbps on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The next step is the My Net N750, which also offers the 450Mbps speed on the 5GHz band, and finally there's the top-tier My Net N900, which offers the 450Mbps data rate on both bands. The My Net N900 also notably comes with seven Gigabit LAN ports (as opposed to the four ports found in most wireless routers). All of these routers work with any existing Wi-Fi clients.… Read more

Look out Windows XP, Windows 7 is hot on your tail.

After a long reign as the world's dominant OS, XP is in danger of being knocked off its perch by the current flavor of Windows.

Surveying the OS landscape in May, Net Applications pegged Windows XP's market share at 44.8 percent and Windows 7's at 40.5 percent. That's the narrowest gap between the two since Windows 7 debuted in 2009. It's also a significant change from April when XP held a 46 percent share and Windows 7 a 38.8 percent share.… Read more

There's a lot that goes on in Windows behind the scenes. If you need an easy way to view processes, programs, and a lot of other information, try ManagePC. This simple program makes it easy to view details about nearly everything that's going on on your PC in one well-organized place. We think it's a great choice both for system administrators and for others who need to know the details of what's happening on their own or other people's computers.

ManagePC has an intuitive interface, with a series of buttons across the top giving access … Read more

In response to charges that Comcast favors content streaming via its Xfinity app on the Xbox over that of its competitors, the cable giant denied giving preferential treatment to its app and said its traffic policies are in compliance with the FCC's Open Internet rules.

Comcast announced in March that it will stream Xfinity on-demand content to Microsoft game consoles. The fact that Comcast content streamed directly to the Xbox console will not be counted against subscribers' total bandwidth usage caps prompted accusations that the cable provider is giving its Xfinity app an unfair advantage over the apps of … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--It was Verizon CTO Tony Melone's turn today to talk about adopting an 1-800-like service for over-the-top media providers.

During a panel here at the CTIA trade show, Melone said that there is a more than 50-50 chance that carriers will adopt a business model that allows destination services, such as Google or Netflix, to pay for clear access for their customers.

"As we move away from flat rate pricing, there is room for an 1-800-type of service where certain destinations could offset the cost of the network to get customers to those destinations," he said. &… Read more

Senator Al Franken says Comcast may be violating Net neutrality rules by exempting its own video service from a usage cap on its broadband network.

The Minnesota Democrat today sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice asking the agencies to take a closer look at a new service Comcast announced in March that will stream Xfinity on-demand content to Microsoft Xbox consoles.

The content that is streamed directly to the Xbox console will not be counted against subscribers' total bandwidth usage caps.Comcast now imposes a 250GB monthly data cap on its subscribers.

This … Read more

Windows XP isn't going down easy.

The ten-year-old OS has gradually been shedding users over the past several years but is still hanging onto to its huge chunk of the market.

In April, XP's market share inched down to 46.08 percent from 46.86 percent in March, according to data out today from Net Applications. That followed a roller-coaster ride that saw XP's audience rise and fall slightly each month since last November 2011.

At the same time, Windows 7 continues to grow in popularity. Last month, the current flavor of Windows grabbed a 38.67 … Read more

It's no secret that Reed Hastings doesn't think too highly of Comcast.

The Netflix chief executive, who has previously criticized the cable giant's claims that it costs the company a lot to deliver Internet video, fired another salvo Sunday, slamming the company's policy on Net neutrality and data caps.

As he explained on his Facebook page, his complaint is that when Comcast subscribers watch Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Go on their Xbox consoles, it counts against their monthly data limits. However, subscribers who use Xfinity don't have their limits dinged, suggesting that Comcast is giving … Read more